Suggestive Studies 
of School Conditions 




Issued by 

C. p. CARY 

State Superintendent 



Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



An Outlined Study in School Problems for 
Women's Clubs, Parent-Teacher Associ- 
ations and Community Organizations 



prepared by 

Janet R. Rankin 

School Service Secretary 

State Department of Education 



"As long as the schools depend on public indorsement 
for their maintenance, why not court suggestions for 
improvement from the public?" 

— William McAndrew 



Issued by 

C. P. GARY 

State Superintendent 



MADISON. WIS. 
1916 






D. of D. 
SEP 22 1916 



INDEX 



Sectwn P^^' 

Introduction .• ••— 

General Remarks and Cautions 

How to Form a" Parent-Teacher Association 

A Suggested Constitution 

Suggestions for Work with the Schools 

Parent-Teacher Association Library 

I. The School and the Community 9 

1. What Does the School Do for the Home? 

2. What Can the Home Do for the School? 

3. Nationalities in the Schools 

4. The Social Center < 

5. Illiteracy 

6. The Newspaper as Community Agent 

7. Community Agencies of Detriment 

8. Consolidation 

9. Vacation Employment for Children 
Bibliography 

II. The School ChUdren 15 

1. The Census 

2. Reasons for Not Attending School 

3. Industries and Training 

4. Why Leave School and Do Nothing? 

5. Enrollment and Attendance 

6. Distance of Children i^rom School 
"7. Over Age 

8. Non-Promotions 

HI. Pupil Health and Hygiene 22 

1. General Remarks 

2. Nutrition — ^The School Lunch 

3. Sleep and Fresh Air 

4. Teeth, Hair, Eyes, Ears, etc. 

5. Communicable Diseases 

6. The School Nurse 

IV. Physical Conditions 29 

L Location 

2. BuUding 

3. Heating and Ventilation 

4. Sanitation, Seating, etc. 

5. Cleanliness 

6. Conclusions 

V. School Beautification 41 

1. Cleanliness of Grounds 

2. Beauty of Grounds 

3. School Gardening 

4. Indoor Decoration 

VI. The School Library 45 

1. Library Housekeeping 

2. Number and Sort of Books 

3. The Use of Books 

4. Cooperation with Public Library 



iv Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



VII. The School Teacher 49 

1. Length of Service 

2. Reasons for Leaving 

3. Relation of Teacher to the Community 

4. Supervision of Teachers 

5- Training of Teachers • 

6. Salaries of Teachers 

7. Number of Pupils per Teacher 

VIII. Kindergarten 5;5 

1. Facts about Kindergartens 

2. The Establishment of a Kindergarten 

3. The Work of the Kindergarten 

4. The Montessori Method 

5. Benefits of the Kindergarten 

IX. The Lower Grades, 1 to 4 56 

1. Sub-primary 

2. Reading — First grade 

3. Reading — Other Primary Grades 

4. Arithmetic 

5. Seat Work 

6. Writing and Spelling 

7. The Day's Program 

X. Upper Grades, 4 to 8 60 

1. Textbooks 

2. Class Work and Study 

3. Training for Citizenship 

4. Examinations 

5. Subject Contests 

6. Correlation of School Work and Life 

7. Miscellaneous 

XL Discipline and Moral Instruction 65 

1. Moral Instruction 

2. The Rule of Fear 

3. Truancy and Lying 

4. Military Training 

5. School Discipline 

6. Self-Government 

7. Thrift 
Bibliography 

XII. Industrial Work 70 

1. Vocational Survey 

2. Establishment of Agriculture 

3. Administration of Agriculture 

4. Manual Training 

5. Domestic Science 

6. Commercial Work 

7. Vocational Guidance 

XIII. Recreation 75 

1. Supervision of District Facilities 

2. Playground and Equipment 

3. Parl^, Vacant Lots, Alleys, etc. 

4. The Movies 

5. Other Forms of Commercial Amusement 

6. Recreational Clubs 



Index v 

XIV. The High School 78 

1. Elimination 

2. Resident and Nonresident Pupils 

3. Th3 Town and Union High Schools 

4. The Six-Six Plan 

5. Dropped, Failed, and Promoted 

6. The High Sthool Alumni 

7. Work for High School Students 

8. School Athletics and Contests 

9. Clubs and Organizations 
10. High School Boys and Girls 

XV. Higher Educational Organizations 84 

1. Our Contribution to Higher Education 

2. Department of Public Instruction 

3. The Extension Division 

4. Free Library Commission 

5. Normal Schools and County Superintendent 

6. The National Bureau 

7. Other General Agencies 

XVI. School Finances 87 

1. Taxes 

2. Analysis of School Income 

3. Analysis of School Expenditures 

4. Unit Costs 

5. School and Other Civic Activities 

6. Cost of Recommendations 

7. Budget 

XVII. The School Exhibit 94 

Appendix on, Method 96 



TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Plale Page 

I. School and Home Cooperation 10 

II. The Opposing Forces 13 

III. Over Age 20 

IV. A Health Code 23 

V. Home Lunch Menus 25 

YI. School Lunch Menus 26 

VII. Poor Lighting Conditions 34 

VIII. Let There Be Light \ 35 

IX. Scrubbing Standards 37 

X. Schoolroom Lighting 38 

XI. Schoolroom Lighting 39 

XII. The School Library 47 

XIII. Number Pupils Per Teacher 52 

XIV. The Kindergarten .'. 55 

XV. The School and Other Agencies 63 

XVI. School Savings Banks 68 

XVII. The Agricultural Course : 71 

XVIII. Elimination 79 

XIX. Five Wisconsin Cities 88 

XX. V^here the School Dollar Goes 91 

XXI. Children Failed and Promoted 97 

XXII. The Cost of Non-Promotions 100 



INTRODUCTION 



General -Remarks and Cautions 

The tactfully managed parent-teacher association or women's club 
cooperating with teachers and superintendents, considering problems of 
importance in education, can do perhaps more good to local schools than 
any other agency. The schools form the largest single institution in a 
given locality. Teachers and superintendents change often. Mothers have 
a personal interest in the individual children to a degree that teachers, 
in the nature of the case, cannot have. The school board frequently does 
not have time to go into the details of school work as the interest of the 
members would make them wish to do.- The parents' club can study school 
conditions intelligently and tactfully and make suggestions which cannot 
but lead to their improvement. 

There are, however, grave dangers to be avoided in the formation and 
management of a parent-teacher association. In the first place, it must not 
become the organ of any faction in the district. All the parents must be 
invited to belong and invitations to attend must be sent out regularly, 
perhaps through the school children, for universal attendance. The prin- 
cipal or superintendent should be made an integral part of the club — an 
officer, if possible. 

Clubs making school studies must always take care not to appear med- 
dlesome or interfering, but must use tact and seek opportunities for service 
rather than occasions for criticism. 

Ho^v to Form a Parent-Teacher Association 

1. Consult with teacher, principal, or superintendent with regard to 
the formation of such a club, and also discuss the matter with representa- 
tive citizens. 

2. Let the teacher and club organizers decide on a simple program, 
including exercises by school children. 

3. Let children write invitations (in grade language work) to parents 
and other citizens; let the teacher see citizens and notify them to attend 
and let parent organizers urge attendance and interest. 

4. On the day of meeting, have exercises by the children, and explain 
the necessity and value of the parent-teacher association. 

5. Let friends approached beforehand start a discussion. Have the 
ounty superintendent, or other outside educational official, attend and 
speak, if possible. 

6. Elect a temporary secretary and temporary chairman authorized to 
appoint a constitution committee to report at the next meeting; also to 
make a tentative program and to secure speaker for the next meeting. 



4 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

7. Fix time of the next meeting; take names of persons present and 
interested; ask i)ersons attending to work out suggestions for club studies; 
make copies of this pamphlet and others available to all interested to 
glance over. 

8. At second meeting, adopt constitution, elect permanent ofTicers, 
listen to an outside speaker, and arrange important lines of work. Write 
Department of Public Instruction, giving information of organization and 
asking for Educational News Bulletin. Write Corresponding Secretary, 
Wisconsin Branch, National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher 
Associations. 

A Suggested Constitution 

ARTICLE I— Name 

This organization shall be known as the Parent-Teacher Association of 
the public school. 

ARTICLE II— Purpose 

The purpose of this association shall be to study the welfare of the child 
in home, school and community; to create a better understanding between 
parents and teachers, and to secure cooperation between parents and 
teachers in all endeavors and efforts for the betterment of school, home 
and community. 

ARTICLE III— Membership 

Any person interested in the purpose for which this organization is 
formed, participating in its activities by work, by attendance, contribu- 
tions or otherwise, may be a member of this association. 

ARTICLE IV— Officers 

The officers of this organization shall be President, Vice President, 
Secretary, Treasurer, and Press Secretary, to be elected annually, at the 
meeting in the month of 

ARTICLE V— Meetings 

The regular meetings of this organization shall be held on the 

afternoon (or evening) of each month. Special meetings shall be called by 

(It is not advisable to hold meetings too 

often. Once in two weeks or a month is suggested.) 

ARTICLE VI— Amendments 

This constitution may be amended at any annual meeting, or by unani- 
mous consent at any regular meeting when previous notice has been given 
at a regular meeting that such change,is,to be proposed and acted upon. 

By-Laws 

In the By-Laws provide for these matters; Dues, duties of officers, 
committees, ways of paying bills, auditing of accounts, an onler of business, 
and the adoption of some standard rules of order to govern business pro- 
cedure. 



Introduction 5 

Suggestions for Work with the Schools 

1. Offer the services of the club to the superintendent or principal to 
make any study which he or she may deem valuable and necessary. The 
school ofTicials know perhaps better than anyone else in what things your 
school needs help, and the olub will do better to follow their suggestions 
than to take up a line of work on its own initiative. It may be well to 
appoint the superintendent and principal on the program committee to 
decide on the course of study for the club. 

2. It is most important that the first meeting of this association be 
made successful. This will set a standard for further meetings to attain 
and surpass. 

3. In making each study determine 

(1) Standards to attain. 

(2) Local facts. 

(3) What can be done by club, teachers, school children, school 

board, vote of citizens, etc. 

(4) Who will see that it is done. 

4. Try to make the club include the fathers as well as the mothers. Be 
sure that the school board is an integral part of the club; that its members 
speak frequently and are always invited to attend. It will be found that 
alternating afternoon and evening meetings will make it easier to secure 
the attendance of the fathers and other business men. 

5. Make dues as small as possible. Provide for expenses through enter- 
tainments where necessary. 

6. A suggested arrangement for club officials is as follows: 
President — a mother 

1st Vice President — a father 
2nd Vice President — a teacher 
Recording secretary — a teacher 
Corresponding secretary — a mother 
Treasurer — a father. 

7. Bear in mind that few, if any, clubs will find it possible to complete 
the work of this outline in a year. It is better to do a small part thoroughly 
than to try to cover the entire ground hastily. 

8. Do not let a few people provide all the discussion. Give every member 
a real work to do and try to bring in outsiders and "stay-at-homes", men 
and women, wherever possible. Get the butcher and the postmaster for 
active members as well as the minister and the professional man. 

9. Make teachers and principals feel that it is is their association and 
that the work taken up is work for them. In each section study try to have 
one or more teachers involved but be sure not to overwork them. 

10. The press secretary is one of the most important members of the- 
club. He or she should be a person of energy and should have an eye for 
news. This secretary should arrange with the local editors for regular 
newspaper space in which to report association meetings and findings in a 
live and interesting manner. The press secretary is also invited to send 
items to the Educational News Bulletin. 

11. Hold meetings in the schoolhouse. (See Social Center Laws in 1915 
School Code). Have a desk and library corner at the school in which to 
keep club material. 



G SuGGliSTIVE SxL'DIliS OF ScHOOL CONDITIONS 

12. Let each study produce a constructive chart graphically showing 
conditions. At the end of the year's work, liold an annual school exhibit. 
(See section 17, The School E:xhibit.) 

115. Follow educational legislation through each session of the State 
Legislature. This will be possible through the local paper, or a study of 
the Educational News Bulletin, or one of the larger Wisconsin newspapers. 

14. Analyze each study made involving expenditure or economy to find 
out the amount which it will cost or the amount which it will save for the 
schools. (See section 16, School Finance.) 

Iv). It may be well to have a council appointed consisting of the super- 
intendent or principal, one or two members of the school board, and the 
president of the club, to review each study before it is presented at an 
association meeting. This plan is found to be practicable in some Wisconsin 
cities. 

16. In taking up an individual study, a suggested method of procedure 
is the following: Assign each of the topics under any given section to a 
committee of three, appointing a chairman and letting him or her choose 
the other two members. Let each chairman of a committee be a member 
of the committee for the topic following, so that there is a continuity 
among the different groups making the studies, so that recommendations 
will not be too widely dissimilar. Each topic will probably form the center 
of discussion for one meeting. In some cases, it may be that two topics 
can be taken up. 

17. In every study undertaken, the constructive idea should be kept 
in mind. Do not criticise without offering alternatives and try to criticise 
only in cases where it is entirely necessary. Examine the charts to see that 
none of them contain condemnation of existing conditions without sug- 
gestions for bettering them. 

18. Be sure that in each study made the club shows the teacher or school 
ofiicer the respect and consideration which is his due. 

Parent-teacher Association Library 

The pamphlets here listed should be in the possession of each parent- 
teacher association making these studies. It will be found that the best 
way to procure them will be to have the school children in the upper 
grades write for them as part of their practice in composition and letter 
writing. It is suggested that all these bulletins be sent for at the beginning 
of the club study, be checked off the list as they arrive and that follow-up 
letters be sent where bulletins are not immediately available. The books 
mentioned are suggested for u.se, but are not indispensable. 

1 Biennial Reports 1912-14 and 1914-16, Department of Public In- 
struction, Madison, Wisconsin. 

2 Copies of this bulletin. 

3. School Code, Department of Public Instruction, Madison, Wis- 
consin. 

4. State Blue Book, Superintendent of Public Property, Madison, 
Wisconsin. 

5. Bulletins and reports of the Wisconsin branch, National Congress 
of Mothers and Parent-teacher Associations. (Corresponding secretary, 
Miss Elizabeth Marshall, 40 Prospect Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin). 



Introduction 7 

6. Educational News Bulletin, Department of Public Instruction, 
Madison, Wisconsin. 

7. Farmers' Bulletin, "School Lunches," U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, Washington, D. C. 

8. Write U. S. Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C, for their most 
recent bulletin containing a list of former bulletins from which your 
association may select thoSe that it will find most valuable. Those to be 
used in this study are— Bulletin 1914, No. 28 on the Kindergarten; Bulle- 
tin, 1914, No. 30 Consolidation; Bulletin 1915, No. 20, Bural School 
System of Minnesota. 

9. Bulletin "The School Beautiful," Department of Public Instruction, 
Madison. 

10. Rules on the Sanitary Care of Schools, State Board of Health, 
Madison, Wisconsin. 

11. Building Codes for New and Existing Buildings, Industrial Com- 
mission, Madison, Wisconsin. 

12. "Seattle Children in School and Industry," Board of School Di- 
rectors, Seattle, Washington. 

13. "Over Age and Progress in the Public Schools of Dayton," Bureau 
of Municipal Research, Dayton, Ohio. 

14. Report on Salaries and Living Conditions in Oshkosh, Wisconsin 
Principal D. H. Wright, Merrill School, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 

15. Fire prevention bulletins. Fire Marshal, Madison, Wisconsin. 

16. School Survey of San Antonio, City superintendent, San Antouio, 
Texas. 

17. City Survey, Superintendent of city schools, Ft. Leavenworth, 
Kansas. 

T. .\^- Bulletins issued by the Wisconsin Anti-Tuberculosis Association 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

19. Samples of the Courtis Tests, World Book Co., Yonkers-on- 
Hudson, New York. 

20. The Township Library List, Department of Public Instruction, 
Madison, Wisconsin. 

21. Bulletins issued by the Self Government Committee. Write 
Richard Welling, 2 Wall St., New York City. 

22. Bulletin on Play-ground Apparatus, Fresno State Normal School, 
Fresno, California. 

23. General bulletins issued by all agencies described in section 15, 
"Higher Educational Organizations." 

24. Bulletin on budget making, issued by Bureau of Municipal Re- 
search, New York City. 

25. High Spots in New York City Schools— 50c. Institute for Public 
Service, Chamber St., New York City. 

26. The Public and its School, Wm. McAndrew, 50c. World Book Co., 
Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York. 

Books to Buy: 

27. "Helping School Children," by Elsa Dennison, published by Harper 
& Bros., New York City. ' i' y i 

28. "Educative Seat Work," by E. F. Worst and Edna Keith. Thomas 
Charles Co., Chicago, 1913-144 p. Price 75 cents. 

29. Madison Recreational Survey, 50 cents. Write Board of Commerce, 
Madison, Wisconsin. 

30. Boy Scouts' Handbook. Grosset & Dunlap, New York City. 422 p. 
50 cents. 

31. "Child Study and Child Training," by William B. Forbush, 
$1.00. Scribner, New York City. 320 pp. 

32. Books may be obtained on payment of postage from the Wisconsin 
Free Traveling Library, Madison, Wisconsin, on any subject which tliis 
club may take up. Bulletin and pamphlet materials available by writing 
the package library, extension division, Madison, Wisconsin. 



8 SuGGi:sTivb; Studies of School Conditions 

List of Wisconsin State Department Bulletins Available on Request 



AgricuUure for Rural Schools 
Arbor and Bird Day Manual 
Common School Manual 
Consolidation Bulletin 
Domestic Science for Country 

Schools 
High School Library List 
High School Manual 
How to Have a Good Schof^l 
Lessons on the Use of the School 

Library 
Memorial Day Annual 
Report of Committee of 15 on Rural 

Schools 
Requirements and Suggestions for 

State Graded Schools 
School Beautiful 
School Code 
School Hygiene 
Social Center Bulletin 
State Graded School Manual 



Suggestions on the Teaching of 

Reading 
Tentative course of study in 
Geography, History, and Civics 
The Superintendent and Superin- 

tendencr! 
Township Library List 
Suggestions to High Schools 
Official School Directo-y 
Great White Plague 
Library Accession Book 
History and Handbook of Day 

Schools for the Deaf 
Teachers' Training Course Bulletin 
Biennial Report 
Library Loan Record Book 
Sr.fety Primer 
Hebinding pamphlet 
Six-Six plan 
Industrial bulletins 



SECTION I. THE SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY 



1. What Does the School Do for the Home? 

The school is the agency society has established specifically for the pur- 
pose of educating and training the child for life among his fellows. Among 
other agencies which train the child are the home itself, the street, the 
church, and work or occupation. The school touches every part of a child's 
life, and if efficient, tends to give him the rounded training necessary for 
his subsequent life as a citizen. 

Through discussion, compile a list of the things the school can do and 
does do for the home. (See Plate I). How would homes be different if 
schools did not exist? In what ways have the local schools affected your 
home? 

Discuss the service of the school in these directions: 

a. Training to earn a living. In what way will the school help in each 
of a number of trades and occupations? Discuss its service in training in 
mathematics, in English, in handwork, etc. Are there any trades in which 
school training does not help a boy or girl? 

b. Training for citizenship. (Development of patriotism, knowledge 
of American government and institutions, history of the country, etc.) 

c. Training for home relations (courtesy, neatness, school credit for 
home work*, home efficiency in domestic science and manual training, 
goo^ habits in the home, etc.) 

d. Training for culture (look up definition of culture in the dictionary, 
and also discuss culture defined as the instinct of workmanship, which 
leads a person to take pleasure in doing any piece of work well even though 
there is no financial return for it.) 

e. Other ways. 

Let each member of the committee making this study, who has a child 
who has completed the elementary school, give a talk on "What the School 
Has Done for My Child." Call for a talk on "What the School Should 
Give the Child" from local business men and also for impromptu talks 
along this line from other club members. 

2. What Can The Home Do For The School? 

In order to make a valuable member of society of the school child, there 
must be a preliminary training to give the child a right foundation for his 
school work. The child coming from a home where there are good standards 
of health, character, harmony and freedom will ordinarily do better in 
school than the child coming from a home of the opposite sort. The home 
must understand school requirements as to study, conduct, etc., and see 
that children conform to these. 

Calculate the division of the child's time per week between home and 
school. Which has the greatest time influence on the average child? 

•See bulletin "Civic and Social Work in Country Communities," or write your 
county superintendent. 



10 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



AMERICA'S BEST PRODUCT 




What Wai They Be 
When They Grow Up? 



To Make Good Citizens 



Insert 

picture of 

school 



and 



Insert 

picture of 

home 



Must Cooperate 



WILL YOU DO YOUR PART? 



PLATE I 



The School and the Community 11 

Get the primary teacher to speak on the topic, "What Habits Children 
Should Have Formed on Entering the Primary Grade." These may be 
classified as habits of obedience, of neatness, of cheerfulness, etc. etc. 

In the light of each of the ideals of service which the school of today 
is seeking to render, (see topic 1), discuss how the home can help the school. 

Discuss how the home hiay help the school by 

a. School visiting. Has your school had a "Go To School Day"? One 
school holds a session yearly in late afternoon or early evening, so that 
fathers, as well as mothers, may attend and see school. Have you seen 
the regular work of your school, as well as special programs? 

b. Through the formation of right habits in children. 

c. Financially, by giving material aid to increase school equipment and 
make possible more efficient work. 

d. Through interest and encouragement, finding out what the teachers 
and superintendent need, and trying in every way to cooperate with them 
to make the school the best possible. 



3. Nationalities in the Schools 

The school has a distinct problem with regard to the mixture of races 
to be found in most American communities. It is an agent for Americaniz- 
ing foreign children, as well as their parents. 

In how many homes is a foreign language spoken? Is there then a 
problem with regard to the number of foreign children in the local schools? 
What can the school do for the children of foreign parents to make them 
as fully American citizens as possible? How can the school reach the 
parents in order to help them? 



4. The Social Center 

In Wisconsin country schools during 1914-15, 21,415 meetings were held 
in school buildings besides 2893 in high schools. The school has always had 
an opportunity in bringing the people of the community together for 
talks, debates, lectures, concerts, etc., and it should work out this duty 
as fully as possible. The best social centers depend largely on themselves 
for speakers and subjects, although many outside speakers are available. 

How many social center meetings were held in your school during the 
past year? How successful were they? What can be done to make them 
more so? 

What are the advantages, racial, social, and economic, of such meetings? 
Do the country people attend? How can meetings be made educational 
and recreational? Frame tentative programs for meetings on school affairs, 
library, new devices in housekeeping, debates on recent questions, etc. 

Who can speak? Anyone who is interested in his work will have some- 
thing to say. The doctor, the lawyer, miller, county superintendent, 
supervising teacher, and many outside speakers are always available. 
Do not use merely the speakers who are usually called upon, but be always 
discovering new and interesting talkers. 



12 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

5. Illiteracy 

Wisconsin, in 1915, had thirty-two persons out of every thousand ten 
years of age or over, who were iUiterate, and is thirteenth among the states 
in this respect. The problem of adult illiteracy may not at first seem a 
very pressing one, but in every community there can be found individuals 
who would be benefited by continued study of the fundamentals. 

How many illiterates are there in your community? How many adults 
or boys and girls, who have left school for a number of years, would be 
glad to learn more of school subjects? A principal in California started 
an evening class at his house at his own expense for such people. Many 
city school systems include extensive night classes for people who cannot 
attend school during the day. Include an item in the club newspaper 
report, asking for the names of people who would like such a course and 
report on it in the discussion of this topic. 

6. The Newspaper as Community Agent 

The modern newspaper has power to advance community betterment to 
almost any extent by letting people know about conditions and needs. 

What does the local newspaper do to advance community spirit? Here 
is a list of some things it can do : 

Run a school column written by pupils under the direction of the teacher 

Advertise meetings and proceedings of parent-teacher associations 

Give full notice of services in all churches 

Cut out objectionable advertisements 

Boost club work, school affairs, church work, civic spirit, etc. 

Consult with superintendent and give publicity under his direction to 
school needs. 

7. Community Agencies of Detriment* 

One of the functions of a constructive association for school betterment 
is to eliminate the evil forces in the community as well as to formulate and 
encourage the agencies of good. In many cases, an institution is an agency 
of good or evil according to the way in which it is used — for example, 
moving pictures may easily be made into an educative force while many 
unsupervised parks, playgrounds, etc., degenerate into agencies of evil. 
Not all institutions which are at times deterimental need be completely 
eliminated; regulation and supervision will do much to make them into 
agencies of good. Other cases may be found where regulation Avill not do, 
but elimination must be made. 

Make two lists — one of the community agencies of vice, one of the agen- 
cies of good. How do they compare? (See plate II). 

Remember that young people must have recreation. Municipally, 
club, or church-owned recreation rooms, educational movies, municipal 
Christmas trees, school gatherings and other celebrations, have been found 
to complete successfully in variou.s localities with the agencies of harm. 
The first essential is inlelligent, constructive interest on the part of the club 
women, not merely to eliminate harmful agencies of amusement, but to 
build up a moral equivalent which will give the recreation without the 
attendant evils. 



*See Section 13 "Recreatioo" 



The School and the Community 



13 



OUR TOWN 
THE OPPOSING FORCES 



Insert photo- 
graph of bad 
conditions 



Insert photograph 
of church, home; 
school, etc. 



WHAT IS THE RESULT? 
Bear in Mind 

Agencies of evil 

Are open all day 

All organized 

Advertise 

Satisfy natural instincts while debasing 

Agencies of good 

Run part time 

Fight each other often 

Are not well looked after 

Do not advertise 

Often repress where they should satisfy 

WHAT ARE THE REMEDIES? 

Regulate the movies 

Set age limit for pool room patrons 

Develop healthful activities 

Keep church and schoolhouse open 

Develop municipal recreation 

Boost Boy Scouts, Y. M. C. A.. Y. W. C. A., etc. 



PLATE II 



14 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



8. Consolidation* 

Many states have found that the consoUdation of school districts forms 
an opportunity for offering better school facilities to country children than 
can be obtained in the single district school. There are many advantages 
and some ol),jcctions to this method. A full brief for a debate on this sub- 
ject, will be found in the Educational News Bulletin for May 1916, which 
may be secured from the Department of Public Instruction, Madison, 
Wisconsin. 

Make a study of the nearby school districts which might be consolidated. 
Find out the present cost of each for operating purposes. Add these costs 
together to find out the expense of running the schools separately. Now, 
compute the cost of running a single consolidated school, adding transpor- 
tation expenses, if necessary. 

Consolidation is ordinarily more expensive, but provides better teachers, 
gives better grading, more individual instruction and generally makes a 
better school than the old system. 

9. Vacation Employment for Children 

The vacation period of a child's school year may be made most valuable, 
but often is merely a time of loafing with not enough healthful activity to 
keep the child happy and well. Many children would be glad to do some 
light work for the summer and earn a little money, or would be interested 
in gardening and other such activities. As the teachers are away from town 
during the summer, the parent-teacher association has a large field of 
useful activity in this direction. 

Make a study of the vacation occupations of the children in the com- 
munity. Find from all the parents of the children in one grade (7th or 8th) 
how their children spend their summer time. 

(-an a dub committee constitute itself an employment bureau, either 
to find or to make renmnerative employment for such children as desire it 
through the summer months? Do farmers who have good homes want the 
older boys as helpers during part or all of the summer? Farm experience 
is good for a boy, provided he is well cared for and not required to do work 
too great for his strength. 

^^■ithin the town limits, children may be given employment running 
errands, sewing or cooking, caring for home gardens and selling the prod- 
ucts, etc. etc. Discuss possibilities in this direction. 

Bibliography 

J. Adams Pufer, "Vocational Guidance" 

.John M. Gillet, "Constructive Rural Sociology" 

K. .1. Ward, Alderman, "The Social Center." 

"School Credit for Home Work" 

U. S. Bureau of Education, Americanization Letters 

.1. B. Davis, "Vocational Guidance" 

(Also se?. Township Library List, pages 14-15.) 



♦This topic may be omitted in districts where this issue is not pressing. 



SECTION II. THE SCHOOL CHILDREN 



Note: The school census includes children from 4 to 20 inclusive. Those from 7 
to 14, or 15 to 16 not working, are legally required to attend school (For exceptions, 
see School Code). Children Iselow this, while legally permitted to attend school, 
should not attend except in cases where there are kindergartens. 



1. The Census 

In order to ascertain the work of the schools with reference to various 
groups of children, it is necessary first to make a numerical study of the 
number of children involved and the different classes into which they di- 
vide themselves. In making this study, it may be well to use cards for 
the names of children for convenience in separating and counting. (Sec 
appendix on method.) 

Get a copy of the school census from the teacher, principal, or super- 
intendent. Classify the children as follows:* 



Total 



Boys Girls 



Total given by census (1458) (706) (752) 

Number who have left the district since census (24) (15) (9) 

Number who have moved into district since census (32) (16) (16) 

Number, if any, omitted by census (0) 

Revised total, boys and girls in district (1466) (707) (759) 

a. Number not attending school (too young) (155) (83) (72) 

b. Number attending local schools (634) (310) (324) 

c. Number 7 to 14 (and 15 to 16 not working) not 

enrolled (21) (8) (13) 

d. Number attending higher schools outside district.... (14) (3) (11) 

e. Number attending private or parochial schools (133) (60) (73) 

f. Number not attending school not doing anything.... (202) (69) (133) 

g. Number working — total (307) (174) (133) 

Farm hand (96) (87) (9) 

Clerk (11) (2) (9) 

Stenographer 

Etc., etc. (list other occupations) 



Something may be told about the conditions of schools from these 
figures and per cents. If a great many children are not attending school 
without engaging in some other useful occupation, it means that the 
schools are not holding pupils as they should. If there are a large number 
working, it speaks well for the financial responsibility of the children but 
may mean that they are not getting the education which they should have. 
Discuss the bearings of these figures fully. 

Make a circle or bar graph, (see appendix) divided in parts, to show 
these facts, with per cents in each group, a to g. Group b should be 60 
per cent of the total or more (in 1912-1.3 it was 5.5.6 per cent of the total 
state census, in 1913-14, 56.2 per cent of the total census). 

Make a list of the individual names coming under each classification. 

♦Numbers in tables in the course of this chapter are intended to indicate an in- 
dividual instance, or the figures for the state as a whole. From them, you can see 
how figures should add and check. 



16 



Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



2. Reasons for Not Attending School 

Take list c, topic 1 (number 7 to 14 not enrolled) and determine in 
each case why children are not attending. 

Total Boys Girls 

Total (21) (8) (13) 

Number with physical defects (11) (3) (8) 

Number defective mentally (4) (4) 

Number of truants (4) (4) 

Number taught at home (2) (1) (1) 

Other causes (specify) (0) 

Make a graphic representation of this. What things are valid and what 
might be eliminated? Make a list of valid causes for nonenrollment in 
school (physical or mental defects, taught at home, etc.). What can be 
done, where causes for nonenrollment do not seem valid, to bring 'children 
back to the school? 



3. Industries and Training* 

The children who have left school to go to work (list g topic 1) should 
be studied to determine what sort of work they are engaged in, how[large 
a part school training plays in securing good wages and how'many children 
would benefit by further school experience. 

When children leave school before the close of high school, it is frequently 
the case that they fall into "blind alley" jobs where the pay to begin with 
is fairly good, but where there is little prospect of continuous advancement. 
Many children will be found in industries who could and should be kept 
in school and some will be found in occupations which tax them beyond 
their strength. 

Take list g, topic 1 (number ol children working). Make for each 
occupation listed there a table like this: 



Industry 


(clerk) 




No. Em- 
ployed 


(11) 


Boys (2) 


Girls 


(9) 




Total 


No 
Pay 


Less 

than $4 

wk. 


$4-7.99 


$8-11.99 


$12- 
$15.99 


$16 


Total 


(11) 


(2*) 


(3) 


(4) 


(1) 


(1) 




No school 


(1) 




(1**) 










Left under 4th grade 


(4) 


(1) 




(2) 


(1) 






Left school 5-6th 
grade 


(2) 




(1) 


(1) 








Left school 7-8th 
grade 


(1) 


(1) 












Some H, S. work 


(2) 




(It) 






(1) 




Grad. H. S. 


(1) 






(1) 








Some Coll. work 

















Notes: (*Working for father **Not steady employment tWorks part time 
also attends school) etc. etc. 



♦Use bulletin "Seattle Children in School and Industry." Sec introduction. 



The School Children 17 

Is there any relation between amount of school training and amount 
of pay leceived for persons twenty years of age or under, i. e., does the 
person with more school training receive better wages? It may be foimd 
that for people under twenty, this is not the case, as the boy who leaves 
school early is apt to get fair pay when starting in. 

Of the boys and girls studied under this topic, how many are in "blind 
alley" jobs? How many have prospects of advancement? How many 
could go to school full time, how many part time? Can the club help in 
getting them to do so? * 

4. Why Leave School and Do Nothing? 

If there is no financial pressure, there is every reason why children under 
high school graduation, or even later than this, should keep on with their 
school work. Take list f, topic 1, to find out how many people listed in 
the census are not attending school or doing useful work. Make a table to 
show at what age these people dropped school and at what grade. Secure 
the reasons why these boys and girls are not keeping on with school. If 
they "don't like school," why not? Such opinions as this often contain 
valid criticisms of the school system and suggestions for its improvement. 
If financial reasons prevent going on to college in the case of some of this 
group, what encouragement can be given them to work their own way? 
(See section 15, "Higher Educational Organizations") What other reasons 
given can be remedied? 

5. Enrollment and Attendance 

In the annual report to the Department of Public Instruction made by 
the principal or superintendent will be found the enrollment in the local 
schools and also the average daily attendance by pupils. This varies greatly 
in different schools. In no school should it be less than 90 per cent of the 
enrollment. (For the cities of the state, it was 89 per cent in 1914-15). 

The child who does not attend school regularly misses a great part of 
the school advantages. Let each member of the club look up the attendance 
of her owii child or children to see what per cent this was of the total days 
in the term. What were the reasons for nonattendance? 

There are many valid reasons for nonattendance, many cases where it 
is better to stay away than to attend school. Obtain from the teacher a 
list of excuses that have been made in her room during the past month or 
two months and analyze these to determine what main reasons keep 
children away from school. 

Ill schools where there is a great deal of absence, discussion of the value 
of attendance should be carried on, as it is impossible for the school to 
work effectively for the benefit of the child if the child does not attend 
school regularly. Discuss what can be done by the club to remedy the 
poor attendance in cases where this is found. 

6. Distance of Children From School 

It will be found a valuable study to analyze the map of the district for the 
location of children of the various groups mentioned in topic 1 of this 

*For a study of continuation school work, see section 12, industrial work. 



18 Su(iGHSTIVE StLIDIES OF SciIOOL CONDITIONS 

section. This will give data for the location of tlie school building in case 
a new building is being discussed. 

I'or this stiuly, get or make a map of llie school distiicl, showing 
roads and natural landmarks. Place on this map dots for. the location of 
children, blue for those under school age, green for those attending school, 
red for those excused, black for those who have left school, etc. 

A possible variation of this would be to make a circle for each home 
and inside the circle place the colored dots for the number of children con- 
tained therein. Such a study as this would be of value as a social survey, 
showing the average number of children per family, number of families 
with no children, etc. etc. 

With schoolhouse as a center draw on the town map light pencil circles, 
representing one-half mile, one mile, one and one-half mile, and two mile 
distances. Is the school well located to serve all children enrolled? 

Are there any children living over two miles from school? Such children 
are by law exempted from school attendance except in districts furnishing 
transportation. In the state, however, most of such children attend school. 
Is this the case in the local district? 

Good roads are a source of good school attendance. What is the condi- 
tion of the roads in the locality and if they are poor, what can be done to 
make them better? 

7. Over Age 

One of the greatest problems of the school is the child who is above the 
normal age in a given grade. In most schools will be found children of 12, 
13, or 14, who are far below the grade in which they should be according 
to their age. Some schools promote children by age rather than by grades 
(notably, Hibbing, Minn, and to some extent, Milwaukee, Wis.) and this 
method is found to involve no poorer work on the part of the children pro- 
moted. It is questionable whether the average child in a second year of 
work in a single grade gets enough advantage to warrant the loss of the 
year. Over age has for its only excuse mental deficiency on the part of the 
child. Some of the means of avoiding it are described in plate III. 

List b, topic 1, gives the total school enrollment. Separate into grades 
and ages according to this form: 



The_Sghool Children 



19 





Total 


4 


5 

6 
6 


9 

27 

21 

~3 

3 


7 

21 
2 
4 

15 


8 
19 

2 
15 

2 


9 

32 
1 


10 
35 


11 

49 


12 
41 


13 

40 


14 
35 


15 
33 


16 
32 


17 
24 


18 
9 


19 
13 


20 yrs. or over 


Total 


420 


4 






Grade 1 , 


30 






— 


— 


— 


— 


— 




— 


— 








Grade 2 


9 










19 
8 
4 


14 
13 
6 
2 


2 
12 
14 
13 


1 
3 

10 
6 
6 

10 
5 


— 


— 


— 


— 


- 


— 


— 




Grade 3 . ' 


69 






1 
6 
8 
10 

13 

2 


1 
1 


- 


- 


- 


- 


- 




Grade 4 


39 






— 












Grade 5 


36 




































Grade 6 


29 












2 
5 








































Grade 7 


26 
















6 
2 


1 
















— 




— 


— 


— 


— 




Grade 8 


39 


11 
12 

3 


4 
8 
12 

7 
1 


1 


1 






















— 




Grade 9 


53 














7 
6 
9 
9 


7 

9 
7 


1 

4 
4 


2 
6 
5 








— 




— 


— 


- 


— 


— 




Grade 10 


25 








— 




— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 




Grade 11 


36 


1 






— 








— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 




Grade 12 


29 






3 





























Make separate tables for boys and girls, as well as totals, if possible. See 
Wisconsin Biennial Report 1912-14, pages 127-129, for state wide figures. 
In your table leave out kindergarten, ungraded and special students. 
Draw a circle around the number of children who are six years old in the 
first grade, 7 years old in the second, 8 years old in the third, etc. — children 
who are of normal age.* 

Now make a table as follows: (This table interprets state data 1913-14). 

OVER AGE TABLE WISCONSIN CITY SCHOOLS 1913-14 





Total 


Under Age 


Normal 


Over age 




No. 


Per cent 


No. 


Per cent 


No. 


Per cent 


No. 


Per cent 


Total 


143733 


100 


16024 


11.2 


51209 


35.6 


76500 


53.2 






Grade 1 


22213 


100 


3055 


13.8 


10451 


47.0 


8707 


39.2 






Grade 2 


16520 


100 


1881 


11.4 


6948 


42.2 


7691 


46.4 






Grade 3 


15861 


100 


1663 


10.4 


5932 


37.5 


8266 


52.1 






Grade 4 


15140 


100 


1330 


■8.6 


5207 


34.5 


8603 


56.9 






Grade 5 


14575 


100 


1257 


8.6 


4303 


29.6 


9015 


61.8 






Grade 6 


13082 


100 


1215 


9.3 


3676 


28.2 


8191 


62.5 






Grade 7 


11728 


100 


1033 


8.8 


3254 


27.8 


7441 


63.4 






Grade 8 


10178 


100 


1060 


10.2 


3115 


30.7 


6003 


59.1 






Grade 9 


9283 


100 


1220 


12.9 


3281 


35.4 


4782 


51.7 






Grade 10 


6085 


100 


963 


15.8 


1815 


29.8 


3307 


54.4 






Grade 11 


5008 


100 


757 
590 


15.1 
14.5 


1761 


35.0 


2500 


49.9 






Grade 12 


4060 


100 


1476 


36.4 


1994 


49.1 







*Some authorities prefer using two years instead of one, for the normal age, e. g. 
6 and 7 in first grade, 7 and 8 in second, etc. Either procedure may be followed 
here. 



20 



Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



THE CHILD WHO IS OVER AGE 



Gets discouraged 
Drops school 
Learns little 
Is harder to discipline 



IN OUR SCHOOLS THERE ARE 




512 or 

36^0 
normal 




1437 children in all 



THE REMEDIES ARE 



Good attendance 

Good instruction 

Good discipline 

Individual instruction 

Summer or vacation schools 

Ungraded rooms 

Good supervision 

Not too many pupils per teacher 

Cooperation between home and school 

Good course of study 

Will to promote in teachers 



plate hi 



The School Children 21 

Graph the over age pupil by numbers and also by per cents. Compare 
with the state figures, also with those given in the city report of La Crosse 
for 1914-15. Make a chart showing blocks representing those normal or 
under age in outline, and those over age black. (See Plate III). Study to 
find a connection between over age and dropping out of school. 

8. Non-Promotions 

The question of non-promotions is closely allied to that of over age, and 
yet it is not the same because some children are over age from having 
entered school late, while the subject of non-promotions shows retarda- 
tions many of which could be helped by the school itself. 

This study has been worked out in detail as a sample study in the ap- 
pendix on method. The procedure followed there will show details of the 
way to make a local study. Make tables by grades, fill in with the 
figures from the last promotion time. Graph as in topic 7, discuss the 
meaning of these figures, and possible remedies. 

Get the total per cent of children failed during one year, and the total 
cost of running the school for that year. What proportion of school cost 
goes toward providing for the instruction of children who are repeating 
grades? This amount will make an effective argument for seeking to re- 
duce the number of failures. 



SECTION III. PUPIL HEALTH AND HYGIENE 



1. General Remarks 

The best service that parents can render to the schools is to send to 
thfin children with sound minds in sound bodies. The child who is 
not well cannot attend school regularly. "When he does attend, he is 
greatly handicai)pcd in the learning process, and this handicap is not 
felt by him alone, but extends to all the children in the room. It is 
not only diseases ordinarily termed "catching" which are contagious, but 
also the attitude of health or disease. Each parent should see to it that 
so far as possible that his or her child has a healthy body and healthy out- 
look on the world; is not eternally dosed with medicine, nor neglected as to 
medical or surgical treatment, but is given such healthful surroundings 
that a sound condition of his body, which is its natural state, will develop 
naturally. (See Plate IV). 

Health is at all times to be kept in mind throughout the study of this 
section, and not disease. The child who has physical defects must be 
sought out and studied in order that he may be cured. But there is great 
danger in such a study as this that the idea of disease will be dwelt on to 
the exclusion of the more important idea of health. As the Wisconsin 
State Board of Health says in its "Rules Relating to the Sanitary Care of 
Schools," "sunshine, pure air, good food, and cleanliness are the best aids 
to good health." 

Get from the teacher in each grade the number of days which have 
been missed during the past month or year on account of ill health. How 
many children are there in the grades who have not for a year or more 
missed a single day from school on account of sickness? It is well to re- 
ward children with such good records as these with a prize of some sort. 

2. Nutrition — -The School Lunch 

Sufficient nourishment of the right sort makes the child immune to 
much contagion and infection. Nutrition is as great a factor as can be 
mentioned in the attainment of perfect health. Using the U. S. Farmers' 
bulletin, "School Lunches" as a standard, determine whether individual 
children whose parents are members of the club are obtaining sufTicient 
nourishment. Get the teacher, on a certain day (the selection of which is 
not known beforehand) to have the children write out in school, without 
signing names, exactly what they ate at home for the noon lunch. Are there 
any that had no lunch? Any whose lunches were obviously insufficient or 
poorly selected? Pick out a number of the best lunches and place them on a 

♦The topic of health is one on which any number of bulletin and book helps may 
be secured easily. The outline here has therefore been made brief and suggestive 
only, as associations can easily secure miich printed material. 



Pupil Health and Hygiene 



23 




HEALTH CRUSADER'S PLEDGE 
/ will: 

— Venerate my body, but not baby it! 

— Keep it clean with soap, water, and fresh air. 

— Keep my mind clean and upon healthful out-door life 
and sports. 

— Let the air arid sunlight come freely into the house I live 
in and the building I work in. 

— Work hard and play hard. 

And remember always, that to fulfill God's purpose, a human 
being is entitled to living and working conditions at least 
as good as are required by productive poultry and dairy 
animals. 

HEALTH BEFORE EVERYTHING ELSE 

t^^t WISCONSIN ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS ASSOCIATION. MILWAUKEE. WISCONSIN ^S^ 



PLATE IV 

Copies of the chart from which this plate has been photographed may be secured 
from the Wisconsin Anti-Tuberculosis Association, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The 
chart is 20x25 inches. 



24 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

chart as models for the home lunch, or, in case children eat at school, the 
school lunch. (Sec plates V and VI. Menus are taken from U. S. bulletin 
"School Lunches.") Make the same study with regard to the child's break- 
fast or supper.* 

It has been found that children in the lower grades do school work much 
better if they have a light lunch jn the middle of the forenoon, such as 
crackers and milk or cocoa. Work out the cost of such a lunch per day, 
if instituted in the lower grades, and also the cost per parent per month. 
May it not be well for the mothers involved, to try out this system for a 
month or so with the consent of the school board to see how it works out? 
In case it is successful, the school board will be likely to take it up as a 
permanent thing. 

Make a study of the number of children in the local school who carry 
their lunch to school to eat at noon. In case there are large numbers of chil- 
dren, the club will want to consider the hot noon lunch or the "penny 
lunch." From your knowledge of marketing, of children's appetit(s, and 
of the cost of preparation of a lunch, work out a schedule of prices at which 
nourishing articles of diet might be sold to children at noon. "Will the 
domestic science classes take this in charge, and the mothers help with 
iinarcing of the procedure? The hot school lunch is often found a most 
valuable activity to institute in a school. 

3. Sleep and Fresh Air 

The growing child in the grades should have at least ten hours sleep. 
I. ate hours, many moving picture shows, and poor ventilation are direct 
enemies of pupil elTiciency in school. What are the conditions in your 
locality, and how can they be remedied? 

Make a study of your own children and those of various other club 
members to see how many hours of sleep each gets every night per week. 
I low many have less than seven hours sleep? How many have seven hours, 
eight, nine, ten, and over ten hours of sleep? What are the obstacles to 
prevent the children with insufTicient sleep from getting more? 

What conditions olitain in the sleeping rooms for your children? Are 
children encouraged to open the windows? Do they have a warm place 
to dress in during the winter? Are there always sufficient bedclothes above 
and below children? Is the necessity for fresh air recognised and met? 

In connection with this, find how many children study at home in the 
evening. Do these children sleep as well as the others? Do they ever com- 
plain of headaches? Can something be done to take away the necessity 
for evening study on their part? 

4. Teeth, Hair, Eyes, Ears, etc. 

Teeth 

One county in Wisconsin multiplied the number of children using tooth- 
brushes by two in two years, simply by making a study each year of the 
number who were using this instrument and encouraging the spread of 

♦In the preparation of this topic for the school exhibit, it will be well to have 
eatables prepared for the various school lunches and grouped attractively under 
the chart as object lessons in lunch preparation. 



Pupil Health and Hygiene 25 



GOOD HOME LUNCH MENUS 



Poached eggs, bread and butter, spinach or other greens, cake 



Beef stew with vegetables, milk, tea biscuits, honey 



Dried bean or pea puree, toast, baked apple, cookies 



Vegetable soup, zwieback, rice with maple sugar and butter or 
with milk or cream 



Potato chowder, crackert% jelly sandwiches 



Cold meat, creamed potatoes, bread and butter, frozen custard 
and plain cake 



Lamb chop, baked potatoes, bread and butter, sliced mixed 
fruits, cookies 



DON'T THEY MAKE YOU HUNGRY? 



PLATE V 



20 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



GOOD SCHOOL LUNCH MENUS 



Sandwiches with sliced tender meat for filling, baked apple, 

cookies 



Slices of meat loaf, bread and butter sandwiches, stewed fruit, 
small frosted cake 



Lettuce or celery sandwiches, cup custard, jelly sandwiches 



Cottage cheese and chopped green pepper sandwiches, peanut 
sandwiches, fruit, cake 



Raisin or nut bread with butter, cheese, orange, maple sugar 



Baked bean and lettuce sandwiches, apple sauce, sweet chocolate 



DON'T THEY MAKE YOU HUNGRY? 



pi.A ric VI 



Pupil Health and Hygiene 27 

its use. "Tooth Brush Drills" are held in many large cities. If the children 
eat their lunches at school, this is a good time to have them practice 
cleanliness of the mouth; if at home, mothers must cooperate to have this 
work done. 

Does your child own a toothbrush and use it regularly? Consult wth 
the teacher as to the advisability of having a dentist come to the school to 
examine the teeth of children. This would not necessitate the same den- 
tist's doing the repair work, but would show to what extent attention to 
the teeth is necessary in the grades. Some large toothpaste manufacturers 
have special bulletins and offers for schools. 

Eyes 

How many of the children in the various grades wear glasses? Ask a 
teacher to report, or with her permission, visit and observe how many 
children hold their reading books in reading lesson close to their eyes, how 
many squint, and how many seem unable to see the front board clearly. 
If possible, get an eye chart from the nearest optician and have the teacher 
test the eyes of the children with it. 

Frequently the lighting of the school as well as the lighting at home is a 
source of eye trouble.* The child should not sit near an unshaded lamp 
or globe to read or study. Get a few of the more careful mothers and teach- 
ers to tell how they look out for the eye health of their children. 

Ears 

Some tests may l)e conducted with the hearing of the children. This 
is ordinarily less of a problem than eyesight in the lower grades. Some- 
times, however, it is found that what is supposed to be stupidity in a child 
is really defective hearing. This makes it most necessary to determine 
which of the children need special attention in this regard. 

General Cleanliness 

Through discussion, decide on the extent to which a child may keep 
always cleah and neat. Is it possible that children will always be clean? 
Can ragged clothes always be avoided? Is it possible to guard against 
contagion of vermin, etc., at all times? 

Bring out the fact that it is only through a general standard of neatness 
in all the children in a schoolroom that any one child can be kept clean 
and neat. I'he single child with vermin may communicate this pest to 
many of the other children in the room, who would not otherwise be con- 
taminated. If there are bad conditions along these lines, they may be 
remedied by suggestions made by the teacher, by handkerchief drills, 
regular "clean-ups" by the children at some given time during the school 
session, or in extreme cases, by rulings of the school board. 

5. Communicable Diseases 

Study the rules of the State Board of Health relating to school children 
and diseases. Notice especially the outline of suggestions to teachers 
quoted here: 

*See Section IV, Physical Conditions. 



28 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

"1. Teachers should remember that infection enters and leaves the 
body in the secretions of the mouth, nose, throat, intestines and through 
the skin. 

"2. Sunshine, pure air, good food, exercise and cleanliness are the best 
aids to good health, 

"3. The exchange or borrowing of all articles which might be used in 
common, such as pencils, penholders and slates, which are liable to be 
soiled with secretions of the eye, nose or mouth should be prohibited. 

"4. When diphtheria or scarlet fever is present in the community, all 
children with sore throats or discharging noses or ears should be excluded 
from school, and no child returning to school, after an attack, with dis- 
charging nose or ears or without a permit from the health officer should 
be allowed to remain. 

"6. When measles is present in the community, all children showing 
symptoms of a marked cold in the head should be immediately excluded 
from school. 

"7. All children with whooping cough should be kept at home." 

6. The School Nurse 

Many cities and counties of Wisconsin find that it pays to employ a 
school nurse to look after the health of the school children, visit homes 
where visiting is needed and call the attention of parents to conditions 
which should be remedied. Often because a community is itself small, 
it feels that it cannot afford a school nurse, but by combining with other 
communities, all can reap the benefit of this public official. Some women's 
clubs in the east have employed a school nurse for a month to demon- 
strate her usefulness, and the school board has continued the employment. 
Literature on this subject may be obtained from the Wisconsin Anti- 
Tuberculosis Society, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Have the local physician or health board member address the club on 
the subject of keeping well. The University Extension Division and the 
Anti-Tuberculosis Society also send out speakers in this field. 



SECTION IV. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS^ 



Note: In dealing with the topics under this section, three free bulletins should be 
made special use of. These are "Rules Relating to the Sanitary Care of Schools," 
Wisconsin State Board of Health, Madison, and the two building codes, for new 
buildings, and for existing buildings, issued by the Industrial Commission, Madison, 
Wisconsin. The State Department of Public Instruction has in preparation a 
bulletin on this subject. 

This section quotes freely from the rules of all and has included also material 
which none of these pamphlets as yet include. The rules mentioned in these three 
pamphlets have the force of law, although a number of them are advisory rather 
than mandatory. 

The subject of physical conditions in the schoolroom is one which affects every 
child, parent, and teacher. None of the children can be healthy or can do the best 
work if they go to school in a building whose physical conditions are bad. None 
of the teachers can do the best teaching work in such a building. None of the 
parents should tolerate conditions other than the best, except where the local 
situation makes it inexpedient to advance too rapidly. 

1. Location 

A. Standard. "All sites should be dry and should contain space 
sufficient for ample and suitable playground. High ground should be 
selected wherever possible. Made land or land impregnated wdth organic 
matter should not be selected. No part of a school site should be within 
500 feet of a steam railroad or manufacturing plants, which may be 
sources of noise or smoke, swampy places, livery stables, saloons, or other 
buildings which may be sources of unhealthful conditions."! The size 
should be for a city at least 300 feet square, for a rural school not less 
than one acre; for any school not more than 20 per cent of ground should 
be used for building and 80 per cent should consist of playground and 
yards. 

B. Comparison. Give reasons for these standards. Compare the 
local school in detail with them. Is the school located on high ground? 
What sort of soil is the formation? (Consult local surveyor for plan 
of plot and information as to ground conditions, etc.) Study the drainage 
of the school site to be sure that it is healthful as a location for a school. 
Make a diagram of the school building, together with land 500 feet dis- 
tant on each side. Plot homes, stores, street car tracks, or other items 
of evironment. If unfavorable conditions are found, can anything be 
done? 

2. Building 

A. Standard. The ground floor of the school building should be at 
least three feet above the ground level. All brick school buildings and 
others, if possible, should have a well-lighted, dry basement under the 
schoolhouse. Basements should be 9 feet high in the clear and at least 
4§ feet of this should come above the grade line. The basement should 
not be used for classrooms, but may be used for industrial work, for 
district gatherings, etc. 

*See "Standard One-teacher School" in State Common School Manual, Dept. 
of Public Instruction. 

tQuoted from the Rules and Regulations for School Buildings of the state of 
Minnesota. 

S. C— 2 



30 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

In each school or classroora, the minimum floor space, exclusive of 
cloakrooms, is — for primary grades, 12 square feet per person; for grammar 
grades, 14 square feet per person, all others, 16 square feet per person. 
A more liberal allowance of floor space (16 to 20 square feet per person) 
is recommended. The room should be at least 12 feet high, and there 
should be at least 200 cubic feet of air space per pupil. Adequate cloak- 
rooms, library room, and toilets should be provided. Buildings of more 
than one story should either be fireproof (built of incombustible or water- 
proof material) e.vcept that fmished floors, frames, and the usual trim of 
rooms are of ordinary wood construction, wdth a dead air space behind 
wood, — or should have ample fire protection and an adequate number of 
stairways. Specifications for adequate fire protection are: 

a. Separate fuel rooms in the basement 

b. No rubbish or inflammable material under stairways 

c. Outside fire escapes for buildings two or more stories high 

d. Frequent fire drills* 

[Most fires resulting in deaths start in the basement.] 

B. Comparison. Report on the local school building according to 
these standards. How high is the first floor above ground level? Has 
the school building a basement, and, if so, what is its condition? Where 
is the fuel kept? Is there any inflammable material near furnace, which 
might cause school iire? How are the stairways arranged? How large 
are the classrooms? (Measure length and breadth and multiply to find 
number of square feet). How many square feet of space per pupil? How 
high are the rooms? Calculate the number of cubic feet of air in the 
schoolroom, divide by number of pupils, plus teacher, and compare the 
resulting amount of cubic feet of space per pupil with the standard. Do 
all the doors open outward? How are the stairways arranged? Are 
there outside fire escapes? If so, how many, and with possible exit in 
what condition? Find out from the teacher how often fire drills are held, 
how long it takes the pupils to get out of the building, how good the order 
of exit is, and whether any sort of general instruction in fire prevention 
and lines of action in case of fire are given in the school? (Write Fire 
Marshal, Madison, Wisconsin.) 

If the condition of the building is bad, there are a number of ways in 
which a club may improve conditions. Perhaps the janitor has not suffi- 
cient equipment to make good work possible for him. Talk to him in 
a helpful way, to find out whether he cannot be induced to keep the 
building in a better condition. In the case of needed equipment, the 
board must be approached if the club does not wish itself to purchase this 
for the school. An extreme measure to be used only in extreme cases is 
requested condemnation of the school building. Upon application of a 
local voter, local educational officer, or the county superintendent, 
the state superintendent is instructed by law to appoint an inspector who 
will report on the condition of the school building and, if necessary, order 
its condemnation and the erection of a new building, when conditions 
are so bad as to make school attendance dangerous to pupils' health. 



♦See Building Code. 



Physical Conditions 31 



3. Heating and Ventilation 

.4. Standard. For a common school, the stove should be inclosed 
within a shield or jacket made of galvanized iron, or other suitable mater- 
ial, and of such height and so placed as to protect all pupils from direct 
rays of heat while seated at their desks. If possible, furnace or some 
other system of basement heating should be installed. A jacketed stove 
should have a direct fresh air inlet about 12 inches square, opening through 
the wall of the schoolhouse into the jacket against the middle or hottest 
part of the stove. (Why?) Each schoolroom should be provided with 
foul air flues at least 16 inches square, with exit on the wall (at the floor 
level) on the same side of the room as the stove. The temperature of 
the schoolroom should be from 66 to 70 degrees, usually 68 degrees. 
School should be dismissed when temperature falls below 60 degrees, 
without immediate prospect of the correct temperature being attained. 

In mild weather all windows should be kept wide open. In severe 
weather window-board ventilators should make it possible to keep the 
windows open at least 6 to 10 inches. Such ventilators consist of a plain 
strip of board about a foot wide, nailed to the bottom of the window 
frame. This board directs the air coming in at the window upward, and 
is such an effective arrangement that one women's club made window- 
boards its chief donation to the school. Ventilators are also made out of 
verj'- coarse and open burlap or sacking stretched upon a frame, through 
which some fresh air may pass. 

The humidity of a room means the amount of moisture which is held 
in solution by the air. When air is exceptionally dry, as often happens 
in steam-heated houses in the winter months, it causes the lips to crack 
and the skin to feel thin and dry. The humidity in a schoolroom should 
be at least 40 per cent. It may be kept high by the introduction of fresh 
air and by the use of large evaporating pans. 

B. Comparison. Compare the schoolrooms in the local building with 
this standard. Inspect the heating arrangements. If complicated, get 
the janitor to explain them fully. Draw diagrams if necessary. Get 
the opinion of the teacher on the efficiency of the heating system. If 
there is inadequacy, discuss what can be done. 

Locate fresh air inlet pipe and foul air outlet pipe, if they exist. If 
there are none, what will you expect the air in the schoolroom to be? 

Ask the teacher to have the children make a temperature chart for a 
week during the winter months.* On visits during the class hours note 
whether the ventilation pipes are open, note the condition of the windows, 
whether affording any help in ventilating or not, and note also the tem- 
oerature of the schoolroom. On a visit or two during recess, the noon 
hour, or when school is not being held, note what is bfo'ng done to change 
air and inject fresh air into the room. Note temperature of school 
building on several diHerent occasions and report. 

Has the school been dismissed any time during the past year on account 
of the temperature falling too low, and, if so, how many times, and could 

*Iii view of the frequent untrustworthiness of thermometers, it will be well 
to have the teacher regulate the school thermometer from a thermometer known to 
be correct — perhaps from a thermometer owned by the local doctor. 



32 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

the condition have been remedied? What is the percentage of loss from 
dismissing school on account of bad physical conditions? Visit a gymnastic 
exercise and note ventilation provided. 

Does the temperature record on several separated days show that the 
heating should be regulated by adjustment of windows, heating apparatus, 
or ventilators oftener than it is now done? 

Each school should own a hygrometer, or instrument for the measure- 
ment of humidity, which may be purchased for from $2 to $5. (Be sure a 
hygrometer which does not require reference to tables is furnished). 
With the hygrometer measure the humidity of the room on several occa- 
sions and see where the conditions need changing. 

Wrong conditions may be remedied by friendly suggestions, by purchase, 
by suggestions to the board, and by newspaper publicity. 

4. Sanitation, Seating, Etc. 

A. Standard. Water. All schoolhouses must be supplied with pure 
drinking water. If the drinking water is obtained from wells, satisfactory 
troughs and drains must be provided, so as to carry away the waste water. 
When the water is not supplied from pumps, from water faucets, or from 
sanitary flowing drinking fountains, covered tanks or covered coolers 
with free flowing faucets must be supplied. A common drinking cup is 
always dangerous and should never be tolerated. Individual cups, as 
practical experience has proved, when used more than once are unsatis- 
factory and unhygienic. Sufficient pressure for running water for drinking 
fountain or other uses in the school may always be provided from any 
source without excessive expense by a storage tank or by a pressure tank 
with force pump. 

Toilets and water-closets should be kept clean and sanitary at all times. 
Floors should be kept dry. There should be frequent disinfection to pre- 
vent odors and unhealthful conditions, and it should be ascertained that 
the method of disposing of refuse is efficient and in conformity with the 
state laws of health. 

Seating. Each child should have a seat which should be as far from the 
floor as the distance from the sole of the foot to the joint of the knee. The 
depth of the seat should be such that the child can sit against the back of 
the seat in comfort. The desk for writing should be nearer the pupil than 
for reading (from 6 to 10 inches from pupil when sitting against back of 
seat). Aisles should be not less than 18 to 20 inches wide. 

Every schoolhouse should have single adjustable seats and desks, and 
these should be adjusted at the beginning of each school year, and durmg 
the year if the growth of the children makes it necessary. The rows of 
seats should be graduated in size by rows lengthwise and not crosswise of 
the room — that is, there should be a row of small seats on the right hand 
side of the room and rows of larger seats up to the row of largest seats to 
the left of the schoolroom, rather than having the front seats small and 
the back seats the largest. 

Lighting. Light should be admitted from the left or from the left and 
rear of the classrooms, and the south light is considered poorest. The glass 
area of windows should equal at least one-fifth of the floor area of the 



Physical Conditions 33 

schoolroom, and no pupil should be farther removed from the principal 
source of light than 22 feet. (See Plates VII, VIII, X, and XI). 

Every window should be provided with shades. If possible, shades 
should roll from either the top or bottom of the window, so that light may 
be admitted from the top, making the best lighting condition. In a room 
with, southern exposure shades should be of some dark material, preferably 
green. For rooms using a northern light shades should be light tan. If 
possible, it is well to have shades of both colors to allow for various con- 
ditions of light. Shades should ordinarily be adjusted so that the 
top half of the window is unshaded. Windows should be cut as nearly 
as possible to the top of the schoolroom. 

B. Comparison. Water. Report on the drinking conditions of the school- 
house. Has any typhoid fever been reported among the school children 
in your district during the last five years? (Consult local physician). Also 
have local health officer write the State Laboratory of Hygiene, Madison, 
Wisconsin, and secure an analysis of the water. How is water supplied for 
drinking to the children in the schoolroom? Have they individual cups? 
If so, how often are such cups cleansed and is boihng water used for this 
purpose? Would the school profit by an inexpensive source of running 
water for drinking, bubblers, etc? 

The Anti-Tuberculosis Society of Milwaukee is glad to send a sample 
card showing how to fold individual drinking cups and these are worth 
considering for the use of the school. 

Toilets. With the teacher inspect both boys' and girls' toilets on several 
occasions. Is there an odor? Are the floors clean? Are there any obscene 
markings? What is the method of disposal of refuse? 

Seating. Observe the schoolroom during general exercise. How many of 
the children seem: 1. Comfortable as to seating and desk arrangements? 
2. Slightly uncomfortable? 3. In very bad position? Observe also during 
a writing lesson and during a reading lesson. Are the desks used adjustable? 
Has the teacher adjusted them? If not, make the proper suggestions to 
teacher or janitor. 

Lighting. How many windows are there in the schoolroom? How near 
the top of the room do the windows come? Calculate the light area in 
each room. Divide this into the area of the floor and see whether the 
quotient is more than five. Does the light come from the left of the pupils? 
What are the conditions in regard to shades, and, if they are bad, could 
the domestic science classes help remedy, or should new shades be pro- 
vided? 

Bear in mind that the best shades in the world will do a schoolroom no 
good unless the teacher sees to keeping them always adjusted. This 
responsibihty may be delegated to one of the more mature pupils, if it is 
impossible for the teacher to remember always. The teacher also is the 
only person who can make good conditions as to seats really possible. 

. 5. Cleanliness 

A. Standard. "All floors must be thoroughly swept, or cleaned, each 
day, either after the close of school in the afternoon, or one hour before 
the opening of school in the morning. Before sweeping is started the 



34 



Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 




^-2 

H -a 

J CO 
0. 3 



Physical Conditions 



35 



LET THERE BE LIGHT! 



Standard 



window space 



floor space 



Children need 1/5 
as much window as 
floor space 



Our school has 



window 
space 



floor 
space 




7:a^^9^^W7::^=:7rrTTfK;^:s 



1/9 as much 
window as floor space 



PLATE VIII 



36 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

floors must be sprinkled with moist sawdust or other substance so as to 
prevent the raising of dust. (The floors in all schoolrooms and halls should 
be thoroughly scrubbed with soap and water at least once each month)." 

Windows should be cleaned as often as may be necessary to keep them 
bright and shining. 

B. Comparison. In spite of the above quoted ruling of the Wisconsin 
board of health, many schools do not scrub the floors as often as the laws 
of health require. How often are floors in the local schools scrubbed? 

Find out how often the school halls and classrooms are scrubbed and 
when the windows were last cleaned. Are the children trained to keep little 
bits of paper and other waste material off the floors? Do the floors look 
such as you would want to see in your home kitchen? Perhaps they cannot 
be brought up to this standard, but probably something can be done to 
improve conditions if these are poor. (See plate IX.) 

6. Conclusions 

It is not likely that any school will be found where conditions reach the 
standard in all the foregoing respects. The club will undoubtedly wish 
to make a number of changes. Several methods are listed below. 

a. Put all interesting stories in chart form for use in the school exhibit. 
Keep all data on physical conditions at the school. 

b. The local newspaper may be informed of bad conditions and some- 
thing will be published about them. This method is probably not to be 
recommended until other methods have failed. Destructive criticism in 
print is more likely to arouse wrath than effect reform. 

c. Talk over conditions with members of the school board. They 
probably know the bad conditions already but, if not, take them to the 
school building to see the facts. Ask individual members to report condi- 
tions to the board at its meeting, or" to the voters if more taxes are neces- 
sary, and enlist their cooperation in improving conditions. 

d. Sometimes a parent-teacher association will wish itself to raise 
money for buying apparatus to improve conditions, and this may be done 
in any of the time-honored ways which clubs have fovmd practicable — 
socials, school fairs, bazaars, solicitation of donations, and other means. 

e. Often the condition to be remedied will be found to be one for which 
money is not essential. Possibly the janitor is the one who can improve 
conditions. If so, he should be interviewed, with a view to finding out 
what are his reasons for not living up to the best that a school janitor can 
do. 

f. The teacher can do almost anything in improving the physical con- 
ditions of the school where these do not require or need a cash outlay. 
The parents' association should stand back of the teachers, encouraging 
them in every way possible to work out the best of their ideas on hygiene. 

g. The pupils may be enlisted as hygienic assistants. Groups of pupils 
appointed as "health officers" for a fortnight or a month each, so that each 
pupil will have a term of service during the year, can be credited with their 
work as part of "physiology and hygiene," "nature study," "domestic 
science" "biology," "physics or chemistry." Such work is "applied 
science." 



Physical Conditions 



37 



CLEAN FLOORS FOR SCHOOLHOUSES! 



When your child comes home he finds a floor cleaned 
once a week 



When he goes to school he finds a floor scrubbed once 
a term 




FROM THE NUMBER OF USERS WHICH FLOOR 
NEEDS SCRUBBING OFTENER? 



PLATE IX 



38 



Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 




Physical Conditions 



39 




o 

W 2 

^ ° 
< o 



40 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

Health ofTicers should read thermometers hourly, and chart the tem- 
peratures on a blackboard r-eserved for it, so that pupils, principal, janitor, 
and visitors can see the record at a glance. When conditions permit, they 
should adjust windows, heating apparatus, or ventilators, for the proper 
temperature, which should not exceed 68° Fahrenheit in the months when 
artificial heat is required. 

Health officers of twelve and over in addition should measure relative 
humidity, estimate or measure dust, air currents and freshness, cleanliness 
of washbowls, water-closets, and other parts of the premises. Permanent 
records in a substantial book are also to be kept, to take the place of 
opinions and guesses in administration of sanitary affairs. 

Health officers from upper grades can be appointed for rooms of children 
too young to do the work. 



SECTION V. SCHOOL BEAUTIFICATION 

Your child must have healthful conditions in the schoolhouse and school- 
room. The requirement of health, however fundamental, is not the only 
one which must be met. Every child needs, and has a right to have, 
beautiful and inspiring surroundings in which to work and play. No 
matter how sanitary the schoolhouse may be, if it does not give the child 
some beautiful things to observe, beautiful grounds to play in, or beautiful 
materials to work with, it is not fulfilling its whole duty to the child. 

1. Cleanliness of Grounds 

The welfare of children makes it right to demand that the school yard 
and grounds should be neat and clean. Paper should not be strewn around, 
and while spaces without grass are unavoidable where children play, 
still play spaces should never remain in a littered condition. 

Visit the school on several occasions and notice the condition of the 
yard. Do you find waste paper on the ground? How much chalk writing 
on the outer walls of the schoolhouse, or what other disfigurements? Do 
the children seem to take pride in making their surroundings neat and 
clean? Does the schoolhouse need paint? 

Often the problem of keeping the school yard clean seems almost im- 
possible of solution on account of the pupils themselves. They often seem 
unwilling to make an effort to keep the grounds neat and are able to litter 
them faster than they can be cleaned by the teacher or janitor. Pupils 
must be led to take pride in keeping the school yard clean. Oftentimes 
they would do this if properly stimulated. 

In case there is necessity for improvement in this direction, organize 
with the teacher and principal a "Clean-Up Day" for the school. Have 
captains appointed to direct the work of cleaning, possibly dividing the 
school yard into two parts and instituting a clean-up race. Then have 
each section responsible for the cleanliness of its territory, and see if the 
pupils themselves cannot be gotten to take a personal interest in keeping 
the yards as clean as possible. This plan might be extended to the roads, 
leading away from the schoolhouse. The pupils in each direction would 
have particular charge of the condition of "their roads," and prizes might 
be given for the best work. 

In many locaUties there will be found a need for a "Clean-Up Day" for 
the whole village or section. In many cities "Clean-Up Day" is held once 
a year, and all citizens cooperate in cleaning up their yards and pubUc 
places as well. The school children can be used to great advantage in this 
sort of work. 

2. Beauty of Grounds 

Trees and shrubs and flowers may be induced to grow in any part of 
Wisconsin. A schoolhouse should have trees surrounding it (though not 



42 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

so near as to interfere with the light), and there should be banks of shrubs 
and beds of flowers to give the pupils their due, — beauty of surroundings. 
Lists of trees which can be planted, lists of shrubs which are suitable for 
school grounds, and directions for planting shrubs, trees and flowers may- 
be secured from any nursery catalog, from the Home Gardening Associa- 
tion, No. 612 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, or from bulletins of the 
state department of public instruction at Madison, the University of 
Wisconsin, or the United States Department of Agriculture. 

Make a diagram of the school grounds, showing the school building, 
any trees, location and kind of tree, any shrubbery, location, size of plot, 
and variety of shrub, and the flower gardens in the same manner. If there 
are none or too few of these things make another diagram of the school 
and grounds, including possible beautification. Make this plan as definite 
as possible, giving varieties of plants desired, and, if necessary, securing 
the cooperation of outside authorities for the plotting of the grounds. It 
is very important that a complete plan should be worked out and submit- 
ted to school board or county superintendent before beginning the planting. 
A little of the plan may be worked out each year. Shrubs may be started 
by seeds or cutting from homes in the vicinity of the school. Here are a 
few rules to follow in landscape planting. 

1. Plant about the borders of the lawn space leaving spacious grass 
plots inside. 

2. Avoid planting either trees or shrubs in straight lines, but plant 
rather in masses or bunches. 

3. Leave gaps for vistas between the bunches of shrubbery or trees. 

4. Mass shrubery in the angles or about the corners of the building, 
but do not completely cover the view of the building. 

5. Cover unsightly places by vines or high shrubbery. 

6. Plant flowers along the front border of shrubbery. 

7. Make use of native shrubs and trees as far as possible and avoid 
plants not adapted to the region. 

8. Give some place to shrubs and trees that will furnish food for birds, 
e. g., mulberry, wild cherry, sumac, elderberry, June berry, dogwood, 
viburnum, (high bush cranberry especially good) mountain ash, haw- 
thorne, etc. 

9. Be surf^ that provision is made for the care of shrubs and trees during 
vacations. Trees and shrubs are more apt to die the second year after 
planHng than the first."* 

3. School Gardening. 

Where it is possible, pupils in a school ought to be given growing plants 
to supervise and care for. This work will be found to improve greatly 
work in the other school subjects. Schools in Wisconsin and other states 
have experimented in gardens for the children, and have found that the 
work makes the children far more interested in school and so improves the 
regular work of the school. If the school is near or in a large town or city, 
the school gardens may be made into a commercial enterprise for the chil- 
dren, who may sell the produce raised and gain some profit therefrom. 

Does your school have garden plots for the children? If not, does the 
teacher encourage and cooperate in gardening work for the children at 

*Froiii "'Lessons in Agriculture for Rural Schools" issued by Wisconsin State 
Department of Public Instruction. 



School Beautification 43 

their homes? Talk this over with the teacher and see what can be done. 
Suggest to some farmer or merchant that a small prize be offered for the 
best yield of corn or other vegetable on a small plot by a pupil of the school. 
If possible, point out a definite section of the school grounds which might 
be used for possible gardening work. Ask the opinions of the pupils them- 
selves as to their desire to do gardening work, as, if they desire it, they will 
gain a great deal more from its practice. 

Communicate with regard to school agricultural contests with the 
county superintendent, the county training school, or the director of the 
county fair. You will find that there are contests and prizes offered in 
practically every Wisconsin county which will stimulate interest in this 
sort of gardening work on the part of school children. 

Your club may want to create sentiment or financially to provide for 
the employment of a home gardening instructor (perhaps the high school 
agricultural instructor) to work with the children during the summer 
months. This may not be necessary. Some member of the club may be 
willing to give time and instruction. A summer committee may be ap- 
pointed to supervise home garden work as well as school gardens. School 
gardens very often are allowed to remain uncared for during the summer 
months. No matter whether school gardens are developed, or merely the 
hedges and shrubs are to be cared for, there should be some provision 
made for the summer care of the school grounds. 



4. Indoor Decoration 

A bulletin published by the Wisconsin state department of public 
instruction called "The School Beautiful" gives many suggestions as to 
the indoor decoration of the school. It is seldom well to use dark colors 
in a schoolroom. The colors used should be light tones, usually cream, 
tan, or light brown for the walls, and light gray or white for the ceiling. 
The woodwork should be painted or revarnished when necessary, and 
the walls should be kept clean and clear in tone. 

One picture at least, and never too many, should be on the walls of 
every schoolroom. Art catalogs will give a superabundance of subjects 
from which to select. Casts and statuary are also advisable. The school- 
house should be equipped with a few beautiful vases for flowers when 
these may be obtainable. A few growing plants will lend cheerfulness and 
attractiveness to a schoolroom. Winter flowers may be raised very cheaply 
from bulbs. Beside these, there should always be some eye to changing 
the surroundings of the schoolroom so as to show the pupils some new 
thing, however, small, which will quicken and stimulate their artistic 
nature. 

Survey the schoolroom for beauty of surroundings. Compare it with 
the most beautiful and comfortable places you know. (A meeting of 
fathers held ia the schoolhouse at Council Bluffs, Iowa, brought forth first 
many complaints, and then constructive work for the improving of con- 
ditions). Have your meeting in the schoolhouse and compare the building 
and rooms to what thev might be. 



44 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

Docs the woodwork need doing over? Do the walls need repainting? 
Will merchants make special prices to the school for the benefit of the 
community or even give time and materials for its benefit? 

Can the club make suggestions on inspiring and beautiful pictures for 
the schoolroom? Let the children take a vote on small reproductions 
before purchase is made, to see which one appeals to them most. In this 
way the picture will be more the school's picture. The same method may 
be used in regard to casts and statuary. 

Is the teacher always trying to have the schoolroom contain something 
of especial beauty? Do the pupils bring flowers for the school desk? Do 
parents contribute for short periods of time beautiful, curious, or other- 
wise interesting articles from their homes? Some schoolrooms contain a 
stand or small table covered with a pleasing tapestry cloth or other scarf, 
(changed frequently) on which are placed objects which the children may 
see and appreciate. These objects may be historical works for the interest 
of the history class, quaint stones or shells about which a story may be 
told, old pictures or daguerotypes which have an interest as school 
material, a flower or autumn leaf where the coloring is excellent, or other 
articles. Articles should not be left on such a table or stand more than 
a few days, and the children should be in every way encouraged to take 
part themselves in their selection and placing. Groups of children by twos 
and threes might attend to this in rotation. 

In many cases it will be found that the school is in need of some concrete 
article such as a victrola, piano, picture or some other thing. Many parent- 
teacher associations and clubs find it possible to raise money for the pur- 
chase of such articles. 

The beautification of the interior of the schoolroom is one of the easiest 
and most pleasant of the possible opportunities for service of the parent's 
association. In every community is to be found abundant material. 



SECTION VI. THE SCHOOL LIBRARY 



Note: It is now legally required that each school in the state of Wisconsin pro- 
vide some sort of a school'library for its pupils. You often find that your child is 
more interested in books which he reads outside of school hours than in the text- 
books in school subjects. The proper selection, care, maintenance, and complete, 
use of a school library are of the .greatest importance in determining the nature, 
character, and amount of a child's reading. 

1. Library Housekeeping 

Books must be well arranged and easily available to children before the 
library can reach its maximum efficiency. With the teacher's permission, 
make a study of the school library. Get the total shelf space which is 
available. Are the shelves arranged so they can easily be reached by all 
pupils, and are the books for primary children on the lower shelves? Do 
the books present a good appearance on the shelves? Is there sufficient 
shelf space to accommodate all the library books owned by the school? 

If library conditions show the need of a library house cleaning, get 
the teacher to set aside the last half of one or a series of Friday afternoons 
for this purpose. If manual training work is offered, let the manual 
training boys fix shelves, and let the domestic science girls clean the shelves 
while the boys do the heavier work of handling the books. 

2. Number and Sort of Books 

If the library needs a house cleaning, it will form a good opportunity to 
find out how many books the school owns, in what condition they are, and 
on what subjects. First of all, how many excessively dilapidated or 
antique books are there — volumes such as no pupil would be apt to be 
interested in nowadays? These volumes can very well be relegated to 
some storeroom. Legal library requirements (See Library Rebinding 
pamphlet, issued by Department of Public Instruction) now demand 
that books be set aside for rebinding when this may be necessary, and it 
will be well to consult with the teacher as to how many books need re- 
pairing and rebinding. Much of the repairing work can well be done by 
the pupils. 

Every schoolhouse is required by law to have certain books and to 
purchase books for its library up to a certain sum per capita of enrollment. 
Every school should have the township library list, issued by the State De- 
partment of Public Instruction, from which to select books, and also 
"Lessons on the Use of the School Library." The school library should 
contain an unabridged dictionary, several good up-to-date maps, an atlas, 
a newspaper or two, and one or more current periodicals of general interest. 
It should also contain reference books and bulletin material for each sub- 
ject taught in the'school, and, besides these, a number of books of general 



46 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

interest to the children — stories, travel, adventure, etc. A special effort 
should be made to have a good supply of story books suitable for children 
in the primary grades, as most libraries are deficient in this respect.* 

Find out the total number of books in the school library, eliminating 
very old or unusable books. Classify material as books, magazines, bul- 
letins, etc. Consult with the teacher as to deficiencies — in what subjects 
reference material is most necessary or would be most appreciated. Discuss 
with the club, ways and means for acquiring books. Often donations of 
books are made, but it is necessary to be sure that such donations do not 
include unusable books. It is generally better to buy books new from the 
Township Library List. Many schools of Wisconsin have excellent li- 
braries. There are few school libraries which could not profit by increasing 
their amount of material. Books are perhaps more seldom donated to the 
school than pictures; but, if clubs realized the value of this form of giving, 
money would undoubtedly be used in this way. It will be found that a 
school library may be very largely augmented by free bulletin and pam- 
phlet material. Have the pupils write to the state department of public 
instruction for names of bulletins on school subjects, which the teacher 
may obtain free of charge, and then have pupils write letters requesting 
such bulletins from publishing organizations. The list given in the intro- 
duction to this course of study will give an idea of the wealth of material 
on all phases of education which may be obtained free of charge. 

3. The Use of Books 

The value of books is completely lost if they are left unused or used 
merely to weight papers or to press flowers in. The club should encourage 
the use of the school library. A very inadequate equipment may be made the 
basis of large profit if it is completely used. 

Before any library agitation has been made, keep a record for a single 
week or month of the number of books drawn from the library by school 
children, or used during school hours. Find out what percentage of the 
total number of books are read weekly. Show results graphically as in 
plate XII. 

Now begin agitation to get children to read more books. Have the 
teacher or some member of the club tell stories from books in class, giving 
a summary of the beginning of three or four interesting story books and 
suggesting to the children that these are available in the library for their 
use. After a period of such endeavor, make another book shelf, showing 
the percentage of books used, and use this as contrasting data in place of 
comparing poor conditions with the best possible ones as shown in plate 
XII. Check the teachers' use of "Lessons on the Use of the School Li- 
brary" in the various grades. Are teachers using this bulletin (published 
by the state department of public instruction)? Can they be induced to do 
so? Be sure that they use in each grade the work which is outlined as 
proper for that grade. 

In looking over the books find the ones which show most signs of wear. 
Ask the children in the various grades which books they have read in 

♦See bulletin "Suggestions on Reading in the Grades" by Miss Annie Reynolds, 
issued by the Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction. 



The School Library 



47 



THE SCHOOL LIBRARY 




Out of each 20 books 
4 are read yearly 



rrj 



[^ 



Why not have them all read? 



Encourage your children to read 
Give them school credit for reading 
Provide interesting books to read 
Read yourself 



"READING MAKETH A FULL MAN' 



PLATE XII 



48 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

the school Hbrar\- during the past month or year, and find out from these 
lists which are the most popular. It is sometimes well to institute a reading 
contest between classrooms to see which can report on the greatest number 
of books within a year. 

Pupils may be encouraged to read by individual reports on books read, 
by a "library hour" (the hour at the close of the Friday afternoon session 
to be given over to reading and telling stories), by the formation of a read- 
ing circle (write the Wisconsin Teachers' & Young People's Reading Circle 
Board at Madison, Wisconsin,) by debates on topics of current interest, 
reports on current events, use of general material in reading lessons peri- 
odically (abandoning reading textbooks and having one pupil read to the 
remainder of the class from a selected library book), and in many other 
ways. 

If possible, let the children organize into a club to use and discuss what 
they have been reading. If there is a member of the club who enjoys such 
work, let her organize a "story hour" for outside of school hours for the 
younger children. This work may also be done in connection with the 
village or city library. If possible, get pupils in upper grades to start 
individual libraries of their own. 

4. Cooperation with Public Library 

The city or town that finds and applies the best modern ideas is the best 
city to live in. In books, journals and reports are to be found all of these 
best ideas. The library is the source of such constructive material. In 
any library may be found through half an hour's reading, desultory or 
directed, material which will yield suggestions for the betterment of 
conditions. 

The library school or public, should put interesting information in 
usable form and should circulate it. The people of the community should 
l)e encouraged by special invitation, repeated frequently, to make use 
of library facilities in the answering of questions on whatever subjects. 
In one Wisconsin city about fifty different magazines are circulated 
through school children to parents in the various homes. These magazines 
have been secured without charge from the subscribers after they have 
finished reading them and information as to the possibility of obtaining 
them is disseminated through the school children. 

Among the agencies through which free books, bulletin material, and 
other information may be received by Wisconsin club women are: 

Package Library, Extension Division, Madison, Wisconsin 

Free Traveling Library, State Capitol, Madison, Wisconsin 

School Service, Department of Public Instruction, Madison, Wisconsin. 



SECTION VII. THE SCHOOL TEACHER 



1. Length of Service 

A good teacher is unquestionably the most important single element 
in a good school. It is a matter of direct concern to the parents of each 
pupil that the teacher should be a person of ability, living in agreeable 
and inspiring surroundings. The teacher should be a respected and prom- 
inent member of the community. There are probably few cities in the 
United States in which teachers are given working conditions even approx- 
imating to the ideal. What are the facts about your village or city? 
- Get the total of different teachers who have worked in the local schools 
at any time during the past ten years, including those now teaching. 
Give under the name of each one the number of years he or she worked. 
Make a table giving the number working one year or less, two years, three 
years, up to those having remained in the school for ten years or over. 

I'in.l out the total number of teaching years in the local schools for the 
past ten years. Thus, if ten years ago the school employed five teachers, 
and for the past three years it employed six, the total number of teaching 
years would be 10 x 5 or 50, plus three years of the sixth teachers' time, 
making a total of 53 teaching years. Divide this total teaching years by 
the total number of teachers who have worked in the local schools, thus 
obtaining the average teaching life of teachers in your community. On 
the average, how many new teachers are employed each year? 

A good teacher always does better service in a school the second year 
of teaching there than the first year, and the third and fourth years than 
the second. What does this record of teaching show as to the local 
schools? Does it show a body of workers who stay in the school and 
increase their effectiveness from year to year, or does it show that as a 
rule teachers serve for a short time and then leave for other fields? 

There will found hardly a school in which the average length of service 
is not too low — three to four years or less. If one or two teachers have 
had an unusually long term of service, they should be omitted in calcu- 
lating the average service. Teachers should be induced to stay, and if 
this organization can be the means of a long term of service for teachers, 
it will have been of great help to education in the community. 

2. Reasons for Leaving 

Using the list of teachers in topic 1, find out in each case where a teacher 
has left for what reason this was done. Group the reasons under two 
heads : 

a. Unpreventable reasons (sickness, death, marriage, etc.) 

b. Preventable reasons (higher salary, larger town, social life, stimulus 
of new surroundings, incompetence in present position, petty quarrels 
in district, etc.) 



50 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



3. Relation of Teacher to the Coiiimunity 

Take up separately the reasons for leaving listed above as preventable, 
omitting "incompetence in present position", and discuss in the light of 
them the following t()])ics: 

Are teachers welcome and made Lo feel that they are a part of the life 
of the town? Are unnecessary restricticns placed upon their freedom, such 
as would not be placed on workers in other fields, which hinder their leading a 
happy life in the community? What agencies other than the church 
make teachers feel at home? What can this club do to make the com- 
munity more pleasant as a permanent dwelling place for teachers? Dis- 
cuss the teacherage or teachers' cottage (see U. S. bulletin "Teachers' 
Cottages") and discuss with the teachers the advisability of this means 
of giving teachers a real home to live in. 

4. Supervision of Teachers 

Supervision and suggestion are found a fruitful means of eliminating 
incompetency in teaching. Principals should make regular and frequent 
visits for the purpose of finding out what work is being done in the various 
grades and for making helpful suggestions where there are opportunities 
for improvement. 

What teachers during the past ten years have left the local school 
Ijecause they have been listed as incompetent? Could anything have 
been done through supervision to have prevented this? 

Get the principal to give a talk upon supervision and its possibilities. 
Let each teacher tell briefly what changes in her work or strengthening 
of her work she owes to supervision by the principal; how supervision 
has helped during her former experience, and what bothersome problems 
might be so'ved through closer interest and more frequent visitation. 

Does your principal have to teach so much that he cannot supervise? 

.5. Training of Teachers 

Make a study of the academic training of all teachers now working 
in your school — high school graduates, high school with teachers' training 
course, county training school, normal elementary course, normal full 
course, some college work, etc. Make the same study for each of the 
last five years to see whether standards have been going up or down. 

How many teachers wish to increase their training? Can the board 
grant leave of absence in the case of a good teacher to encourage her 
taking advanced educational work with the certainty of a position with 
a salary increase when she is through? 

Find out in the case of the present teachers how many have attended 
summer session courses since beginning teaching work. Find o-ut this 
also for teachers during the past five years and compare. Summer work 
for teachers is very important as it shows whether or not they are anxious 
to keep out of an educational rut and to advance themselves profession- 
ally all the time. 

One Wisconsin city asks in its contract of those teachers who have been 
out in work five years that they take some summer professional work at 



The School Teacher 51 

college or normal school. This city has a remarkable record as to the 
length of time during which teachers fill local positions. 

What can the club do to make possible attendance at summer schools, 
short courses, institutes, etc., on the part of teachers? 

6. Salaries of Teachers 

Classify the salaries paid to local teachers in groups by intervals of 
$5.00,— less than $40, $40 to $44, $45 to $49, etc. Put the salary on a 
twelve month basis — divide the yearly salary by twelve. Now make a 
comparative list of other salaried ofTicials in the town whose training and 
qualifications are about as high as those of the teaching force. How do 
these compare? Find out from the records what salaries were paid to local 
teachers ten years ago. The cost of living has gone up 82 per cent during 
the past ten years. * Have salaries advanced to a commensurate degree? 

In connection with this subject study the analysis of teachers' salaries 
and the cost of living prepared by a committee in Oshkosh (see intro- 
duction), get one of the teachers to outline her yearly budget, and, if 
possible without offending, find out how many of the teachers save. Do 
not compare salaries paid in your locatity with those of other localities, 
as the question to be determined throughout this course of study is not, 
how do our schools come up to those of our neighbors, but, how do our 
schools fall short of their possible efficiency? 

7. Number of Pupils Per Teacher 

No teacher can do her best work with an enrollment of over 40 pupils. 
The best number will be found to be about 30. The University of Wis- 
consin, according to the U. S. Statistical Report, has one teacher for 
every 10^{o pupils. One of the large high schools in the state of Wisconsin 
has 28^ pupils per teacher. One city has in its grades 45 pupils per teacher, 
and while separate figures for high school and grades are not available 
for the state as a whole, it is probable that the average number of children 
per grade teacher in the cities of the state of Wisconsin is not much 
less than 45. It is an interesting fact that the overcrowding should be 
in the part of the school system which furnishes the beginning and the 
end of education to a majority of the pupils. (See plate XIII). 

Find out the number of pupils under each teacher in the grades. What 
is the average? (Add enrollments and divide by total number of teachers.) 
Get figures for the high school as well by dividing the total number of 
pupil hours which a teacher has by the number of classes taught in one 
day, thus getting the average number of pupils under the teachers' super- 
vision. 

Now, determine at what points in the system the large classes come. 
Are these points where teachers can handle a large number, or do teachers 
of these grades need to do a good deal of individual work?* 

*This figure is given in the "Report on Teachers' Salaries and the Cost of Liv- 
ing," prepared by a committee in the Oshkosh schools. (See introduction.) 

*The law of Wisconsin requires two teachers in a rural school where fi5 or more 
pupils attend for 20 consecutive days. 



52 



Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



CAN THE TEACHER TEACH 


Grade 1 


58 children 


Grade 2 


42 children 


Grade 3 


46 children 


Gr^.de 4 


43 children 


Grade 5^ 


38 children 


Grade 6 


35 children 


Grade 7 


39 children 


Grade 8 


31 children 



In the high school there is one teacher for each 25 pupils 
In the University there is one teacher for each 11 pupils 

We can 

Hire an assistant teacher for special grade work 
Let best high school pupils do practice teaching 
Section the first grade 



IS IT WORTH WHILE TO GIVE A BEGINNING PUPIL 
MORE THAN 1-58 OF A TEACHER? 



PLATE XIII 



SECTION VIII. KINDERGARTEN 



Note: Among the possible charts illustrating this section should be an enlarged 
photograph of the 4 and 5 year olds in the kindergarten at play, and, if possible, a 
little play-room at the exhibit, in which the children are carrying on their kinder- 
garten work under the direction of the kindergarten teacher. If a kindergarten has 
not been established, photographs should he obtained from other sources (the Mil- 
waukee State Normal School, National Kindergarten Association, etc.) and, if 
possible, a trained kindergartener should be secured for the time of the exhibit to 
show how the work can be done, with a class of- the local children who might be in 
the kindergarten, if there were one. 

1. Facts about Kindergartens 

In the number of cities and villages having kindergartens Wisconsin 
leads with 142, Michigan is second with 128, and New York third with 92. 
In the number of kindergartens New York leads, Ohio is second, and 
Wisconsin is third. In the percentage of the total number of children 
4 to 6 years old enrolled in l^indergartens in 1914 Wisconsin is the second 
of the states of the union. New .Jersey being first. District of Columbia 
third, Connecticut fourth, and New York fifth. (Write National Kinder- 
garten Association, 250 Madison Avenue, New York City, for bulletins 
and pamphlets). 

2. The Establishment of a Kindergarten* 

In localities where there are a large number of children 4 or 5 years old, 
the establishment of a kindergarten becomes a pressing question, as, 
otherwise, these children are apt to crowd into school and disorganize the 
work of the lower grade rooms. 

Look up the number of children 4 or 5 years of age in the district. (See 
section 1, topic 1). 

Total number of children 4 or 5 years old 

Number outside of school 

Number inside school 

Number enrolled in school 4 years old 

Number enrolled in school 5 years old 

Get the records of the first grade, promotions for the last two years, and 
separate the children into those 4, 5, 6, 7 and above, years old. 

How many of the 4 year olds passed into second grade? 

How many of the 5 year olds? 

How many of each failed to pass? 

The first grade teacher should be a member of the committee making 
this study. Have her give a talk on the progress of under age children, 
bringing out the fact that such children do not progress as they should and 
constitute a drag upon the work of the other children in the grade. 

*In cities which have kindergartens, this topic should be omitted. 



54 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

Take up the children 4 or 5 years old outside of school. What do they 
do with their time? How many of them would profit by a kindergarten, 
were one opened? 

Estimate cost of the kindergarten, total and cost per child. Construct 
charts showing the facts outlined above and the remedy — to establish a 
kindergarten. (See plate XIV) 

3. The Work <>f the Kindergarten* 

Where a kindergarten has been established, it is necessary to ])e sure 
that the kindergarten is doing the best work possible. If not all chil- 
dren 4 to .5 years old attend the kindergarten, its advantages should be 
brought to the attention of their parents. If the training of the kinder- 
garten teacher has not been adequate, she should be encouraged to 
extend this training. 

Out of the total number of children 4 to 5 years old, how many are found 
enrolled in the kindergarten? How many attend part time? How 
great a proportion of its possible pupils does the kindergarten serve? 

How many kindergartners have been employed in thf district during 
the past five years? What has been the training of these and what 
salary has been paid? Kindergartners, as well as grade teachers, should 
have the specialized training necessary to fit them for their work. 



4. The Montessori Method f 

What is the Montessori method? What of its teachings are valid and 
what seem invalid? Is the Montessori method being used to any extent 
to supplement the kindergarten? 



5. Benefits of the Kindergarten 

Has the kindergarten fulfilled its purpose? Get a symposium of com- 
ments from mothers of children who have attended kindergarten on 
"What the Kindergarten Has Done for My Child". Take a group of 
20 children who have attended kindergarten and are now attending first 
grade; take also a group of first grade children of like age who have not 
attended kindergarten and compare the records of the two as to the qual- 
ity of work done. Which group as a whole stands higher? Ask the 
first grade teacher to speak on the dilTerence between kindergarten and 
non-kindergarten children in their abihty to learn to read, to learn to 
spell, to do any of the other first grade work. Keep in mind throughout 
that this does not mean that each individual child who attends kinder- 
garten will be better than every individual child who does not. It is 
merely a question of training making a group more efiicient. 



♦This topic is to be studied in communities where kindergartens have been 
established. 

tin connection with this topic use Bulletin U. S. Bureau of Education 1914, No. 
28, "The Montessori Method in the Kindergarten." 



Kindergarten 



55 



LET'S HAVE A KINDERGARTEN! 



Out of 140 children 4 or 5 years old, 55 attend school 



All 



None pass to second grade 

hinder other children 

take 2 or 3 years to cover 1 year's work 

miss full attention of teacher 

cijuse extra expense to school system 



Insert photograph of 
kinder garden 



In Kindergarten 

Children are happy 

Receive work fitted for their age 

Allow grade teacher to give full time to grade children 

WE WANT A KINDERGARTEN! 



PLATE XIV 



56 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



SECTION IX— THE LOWER GRADES, 1 to 4 



1. Sub-primary 

The organization of school systems with regard to the children who 
are 4 and 5 years old differs very widely in different schools. Systems 
sometimes found are: 

(a) Children under 6 attend kindergarten. There is one first grade 
and one second grade and children spend one year in each, entering the 
first grade at the age of 6 or 7. 

(b) There is no kindergarten. All children enter school at 6 or 7 years 
of age. No children less than 6 years old attend. 

(c) There is no kindergarten — some children under 6 come to school 
in the sub-primary class for a shortened session with no technical work 
in reading etc. All children 6 or (entering) 7 go into the first grade for 
one year, then into the second year. 

(d) The sub-primary takes all children as they enter and gives a 
year's attempt at academic work. Six year old children are retarded as 
all children must take at least two years to complete first grade work. 

(e) Sometimes in addition to the first two grades there is a B II and 
an A II both of which take a year to complete. 

The first plan is the best and the others poorer in order. The last two 
ought never be found as they keep back entering 6 and 7 year olds at the 
very start, overcrowd the teacher with work, and spread a normal year's 
work over two or more years, thus wasting time. 

What is the plan in your school? Make a complete study of its organ- 
ization with regard to beginning children. Do the children like this 
system? If not, and if it is not a good one, see what can be done. 

2. Reading — First Grade 

Use Bulletin on Heading by Miss Reynolds published by the State 
Department of Public Instruction. Use also the Wisconsin Common 
School Manual. 

Reading is without question the most important subject in the primary 
grades. If children can read easily and intelligently they will have no 
trouble with later school work. If they are not given the training which 
will make them good readers, their later education becomes difficult and 
to a great extent worthless. 

It is essential that children read correctly in starting, have plenty of 
time for reading, and read much. The amount of reading which children 
can do well will be found to vary. In rural or state graded schools, it 
is impossible to read as much as in city schools where a teacher has only 
one grade. Many teachers find that there is not time enough in the 
school year to read more than one, or at most, two books. Other teachers 
with an equal number of pupils find that children in the first grade may 
profit from reading a large number of primers and first readers. It is 



The Lower Grades, 1 to 4 57 

not uncommon in the city of Milwaukee for a first grade to read twelve to 
fifteen books in the year. The Wisconsin city using the greatest number of 
first grade reading texts is River Falls, where from twenty-five to thirty 
first grade reading texts are read yearly; but this example can probably 
not be emulated by the majority of schools. 

With the teacher's permission, visit several reading lessons. Get 
from the teacher the number of books which have been read so far during 
the year, and the number of pages in all those books. Find out from the 
pupils how many, if any, have read a story book- or stories during the 
year which were not in the class readers, and find out what stories these 
were. Get the teacher to make an estimate as to the amount of ground 
the child will cover before the end of the year and ask her to talk to the 
club on ways and means for increasing the quantity an quality of children's 
reading — more or better texts, more time for reading, etc. 

Ask the teacher if the children can do sight reading well and test your 
own child on some reading of this sort to see what the quality of his or 
her work is. Arrange with the teacher, if possible, for an exhibit of chil- 
dren's reading, at which each child in the class reads new material. Be 
careful that children are not tested on old material, as often this becomes 
merely an exercise in memorizing. 

Is there enough material in the school so that the teacher may have 
first graders read eight or ten books? If there is not material how can it 
be acquired? Primers cost from 25 cents to 40 cents apiece. Often 
other neighboring schools will exchange sets of primers not in use or loan 
them to your school for the use of the children. Cannot the school 
board be induced to buy necessary reading material? 

Many schools lack reading material in the school library suitable for 
children in the lower grades. If this is the case in the local schools, what 
can be done about it? 



3. Reading — Other Primary Grades 

Make the same sort of study in the second, third and fourth grades. 
Note the date of publication of the reading textbooks. Are these books 
in good condition? Are they of recent publication? 



4. Arithmetic 

Some schools omit number-work in the first grade entirely and devote 
all their time to reading and busy work. This has been found to work 
out well where the children read a good deal, as they get the numbers 
from the paging in the reading books, and the elementary combinations 
are known to the ordinary child of 6 or 7 years. An alert teacher can 
work these in without formal lessons. 

The great question to solve in arithmetic is "Is this subject preparing 
my child for what he or she needs to know in later life?" There will be 
no doubt that the combinations and fundamental processes will do this. 
The problem is slightly different in the upper grades, and will be taken 
up in the next chapter. 



58 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

With the teacher's permission, visit the arithmetic class and describe 
the methods used by the club. It may be interesting to arrange with 
the principal a number-contest between the 3rd and 4th grades, in which 
they count each other down on the multiplication table and other number 
fundamentals. Notice the arithmetic texts to be sure that they are 
recent and in good condition. * 

5. Seat Work 

The problem of keeping children busy in school is one of the hardest 
to be met by the teacher. She needs a good seat work equipment 
and if she has a very large enrollment, a part-time assistant from among 
the upper grades or high school. Such a book as "Educative Seat Work" 
may be used here to advantage. 

Spend a half session in each of the first and second grade rooms. Notice 
carefully what the children not reciting are doing. Are they busy or 
idle? Has their work a purpose or does it seem indefinite and meaning- 
less? Take stock of the seat work material in the schoolroom. How 
often is it used? Do the children enjoy it? Does it help at all in their 
regular lessons? 

If the children are not being kept busy, it is a positive detriment to 
them in school work, as they learn to be contented in school while doing 
nothing. Talk over possible remedies. Often the better students from 
the upper grades or high school will be glad to go down from time to time 
to the primary grades and supervise seat work of the children. 

6. Writing and Spelling 

Many schools consider that these subjects should not be taught in the 
first grade. Children in the lower grades should not write with a pen 
and should have paper with lines very wide apart, to give the hand free 
movement and prevent it from becoming cramped. Words for spelling 
should in the lower grades be taken largely from the words misspelled 
by the children themselves. 

Get the teacher to talk on methods of teaching these subjects or make 
report on descriptions of them contained in the Common School Manual 
or one of the book references at the end of this chapter. 

7. The Day's Program 

With the teacher, make out for each of the lower grades a table showing 
the amount of time given to each of the grade subjects during the day. 
Make a table such as the following: 

Subjects Minutes 

Reading 

Writing 

Arithmetic 

Spelling 

Seat work 

Recess 

Opening exercises 

Industrial work 

♦Schools may well be encouraged to use some standard test in arithmetic. Apply 
to the State Department for help and suggestion concerning tests of this sort. 



The Lower Grades, 1 to 4 59 

Arrange the studies according to the amount of time taken for each — • 
the one taking most time, first, and the one taking least time, last. ' Add 
up the total to find how many minutes there are in the school day and 
divide this total into each of the different numbers to find the per cent of 
tiBie given to the various school activities. 

You should expect in the first grade to find reading taking the most 
time, although this percentage will naturally decrease in the higher grades. 
Are there any activities that seem to need more time than is given to 
them? Let. the teacher discuss the arrangement of subjects and her 
ideas as to its adequacy or inadequacy. 

Bibliography 

. Educative Seat Work — by Worst and Keith 
Common School Manual — State Department of Public Instruction 
Teaching the Common Branches — by W. W. Charters, Houghtan, 

Mifflin Co., New York. 
Teaching Children to Read — by Clapper, D. Appleton & Co., Chicago, 

Ills. 



SECTION X— UPPER GRADES 4 to 8 



1. Textbooks 

With the teacher look over the textbooks which are being used in the 
upper grades and see in what condition they are (torn, need repairing, etc.) 
Cannot some of the repairing work be done by the children themselves?* 

Notice when the textbooks were published, and discuss with the teacher 
whether they seem at present adequate to the needs of the children. Is 
there enough supplementary and reference material in subjects such as 
history, geography, etc.? Members of the committee should ask their 
own children for their opinion on the school textbooks, as their criti- 
cisms may contain suggestions. If the teacher reports that textbooks are 
not adequate, the possibihty of adding to the supply should be discussed. 

If the school has not free texts, this possibility should be discussed. 
Advantages of free texts are: make school easier for poor children, less of 
a hardship if texts are changed; books apt to be in better condition as 
school can supervise. Advantages of pupil-owned texts are: less 
expensive for school district as a whole; enables the child to have his 
own books to keep; can be made more sanitary when supervised by 
family. 

Have free textbooks ever been fumigated or disinfected? It is essen- 
tial to the health of the school children that precautions be taken to be 
sure that infection is not carried through textbooks. Find out how 
many years sets of textbooks have been in the building; how often they 
have been sterilized or disinfected, and how many epidemics have been 
found in the various rooms since their adoption. 

Magazines are more and more coming to be used as texts in the school. 
Such papers as "Current Events", "The Little Chronicle", "The Inde- 
pendent", "The Outlook", and ethers are being used as material for 
reading history, geography, and other subjects. What does the teacher 
think of the use of this form of text? Discuss advantages and disad- 
vantages. 

2. Class Work and Study 

EfTicient study will do more than any other one thing to make children 
good pupils in school. Studying at home is to be minimized as much as 
possible in the grades. It is probably the case that children in the first 
two years of school are not capable of what is commonly known as study- 
ing. Home conditions are often not conducive to successful study. 

Let the mothers composing the committee making this study determine 
from their children or from other upper grade children how often they 
study at home. What are the conditions under which home study 
is done? Are mothers always careful to give the children a quiet 

*A New York school found that by having school boys build a green house, 
window breaking in the school was done away with. This principle will be found 
helpful in many cases. 



Upper Grades, 4 to 8 61 

place in which to study? Are children interrupted to run errands, carry 
in wood, wash the dishes, etc., or is a definite schedule made whereby 
there is a time in the child's day for the performance of home duties and 
a time set apart for study? 

Get the teacher to talk on the question of whether children need to 
study at home or not. Is the case of the children studied above typical 
as to amount of home study performed? If these children need to study 
at home less than the average, can not the need for home study be done 
away with in the case of the others? Calculate the amount of study time 
during the school session. Is this time fully used by the pupils? It has 
been calculated that if schools were run on a task, instead of a time basis — 
that is, if the requirement for dismissal was performance of a given task 
instead of the coming of a given hour — a school session would be much 
shorter than it now is, as children would be stimulated to their full activity. 
This task system to be sure is at present impractical as a device. 

Let the teacher discuss which subjects are most frequently taken home 
to study. Arithmetic is one which is very often used for home study 
and it is perhaps the worst for this purpose, as children can get their 
examples done for them at home in arithmetic most easily, and there is 
least necessity of the child's gaining knowledge from the study period. 

3. Training for Citizenship 

The question of training for patriotism and citizenship is one which 
has recently acquired large interest. There are probably few schools in 
which there is no study of current events. It is not so frequently the 
case, however, that pupils are aroused to interest in the affairs of the 
locaUty — ^voting, the town or city organizations, local and national 
pohtics, and functions of local boards and ofTicials, etc. In New York 
City patriotism and the duties of citizens are emphasized in assemblies, 
class exercises, flag salutes, through national airs for singing and marching, 
holiday speeches, etc. 

"The duties of patriotism are emphasized in civics and current events 
courses; by visits to "city fathers"; by addresses of public officers explain- 
ing citizen relation to the fire and health departments, etc; by moving 
picture reels showing how fire, disease and disaster are prevented or dealt 
with; by visitation of school by Grand Army Posts to make pupils realize 
what patriotism may cost."* 

4. Examinations 

There is perhaps no branch of the modern pubhc school system which 
is more in need of revision than the system of examinations at present 
prevaiUng. The examination should be a test of the pupil's ability to 
use what he has been taught. It should therefore be practical and con- 
nected with concrete experience and should involve some active reasoning 
on the part of the child, as well as a memory of the subject studied. 

The failure of examinations to indicate practical ability was shown in 
Springfield, Mass., where a group of prominent business and professional 

*"High Spots in New York Schools" by Wm. H. Allen, Institute for Public 
Service, New York City. 

S.C-3 



62 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

men were given a set of seventh grade examinations in the various school 
subjects. The results showed that these men were easily surpassed by 
the average seventh grader in ability to pass the questions and yet there 
could be no question about the greater ability of these men in a practical 
way. Examinations of the same sort have been given to other groups 
of successful and cultured people and the results have never failed to 
show that the things which have been used in life are ordinarily not the 
thinfis which examinations test. 

Let the teacher try on the club members a set of examinations given 
to seventh graders and mark the members of the club as she would mark 
the children. .Discuss the questions with the teacher to see which of 
them show knowledge that would be of definite use to the children in 
life. Discuss other examination questions taken from grade examinations 
to see whether these seem to test knowledge which can be used by the 
child. 

Are any examination "follow-ups" used? Very often when results 
in examinations are poor, there is a definite practical reason or bearing 
of the fact. It may mean that the teaching is not what it should be. 
It may mean that the children's disciphne is poor, or that there are out- 
side distractions which keep the children from doing the work they should. 
This should be analyzed at the close of each examination. 

Do pupils dread examinations? Can they be shown to be a definite 
strain on the pupils? Many good schools offer exemption from exami- 
nations for pupils having good class standings. Let the upper grade 
teachers tell whether examinations are needed in order to show where 
the children stand. In how many cases could the teacher mark the child 
before the examination as accurately as the examination mark? Standard 
tests in the fundamental subjects (See introduction) are sometimes 
given the child at regular intervals to grade improvement in a given time. 
This is a possible variation on the conventional examination. 

5. Subject Contests 

Many schools find that it stimulates interest to have subject contests 
between pupils. An algebra contest recently held in Minneapolis pro- 
voked great enthusiasm in this subject among high school children. 
County contests are now generally held in spelling, arithmetic, industrial 
subjects, etc. 

Arrange with the teacher for a contest in sixth grade geography or in 
some one of the grade subjects between pupils of the local school and of 
some other school. Let the pupils know about this some time in advance 
to be sure that their enthusiasm and interest are aroused. Does such a 
contest as this hel]) the work in this subject? Can the system well be 
extended to others? 

6. Correlation of School Work and Life 

The trend of the modern school is toward using the activities of out- 
of-school life as material for school training. Take up separately each 
one of the common school subjects for discussion. What training do 



Upper Grades, 4 to 8 



63 



you want your child to receive in, for example, reading, which will be of 
most use to him or her outside of school? What are the practical yvays in 
which this subject will be used by the child who goes through school? 
(Bear in mind that use may lie in several directions instead of in the one 
direction of training to earn a living. . See section 1, topic 1) 

A few of the ways in which subjects may be correlated with life are:* 




PLATE XV 
From "High Spots on New York Schools" by W. H. Allen 



Arithmetic; Model stores, home account keeping of children, school 
savings banks, use of life insurance charts,, management of school business, 
school bank, school lunch rooms, and other work of correlation that 
needs to l>e done. 



*Use in connection with this topic "High Spots in New York Schools," Institute 
for Public Service, 51 Chambers St., N. Y. city. 



64 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

Geography; Excursions to nearby points, physical geography trips to 
factories, district surveys, moving pictures, use of current magazines, 
building up of school museums. 

Civics: Visits to polling places, participation in community activities 
such as "Clean-Up-Day," interviews with officers of local government, 
such as aldermen, marshals, etc., conducting of complaint bureau, writing 
and acting of civic life plays, self-government. 

Hygiene and Physiology: Interviews with boards of health, sanitation 
surveys of the district, fresh air band, hygiene inspection drills, instal- 
lation of shower baths in school. 

Reading: Reading to hospital patients and shut-ins for school credit, 
reading at home, reading and following directions in industrial and 
construction work. 

Writing: Writing letters of application for positions, writing for bulle- 
tins, circulars, etc. writing contests in school. 

Discuss with the teacher the practicability of these and other sug- 
gestions in this field. 

7. Miscellaneous 

The club can help in forming and directing special day programs for 
grade children. 

Study may be made of reference reading in the grades to see how many 
children are stimulated by their grade studies to be reading related books 
on their own initiative. 

A study of school credit for home work may be made with a view to 
the introduction of this in the school curriculum. (See bulletin No. 18, 
Department of Public Instruction, Madison, Wisconsin.) 



SECTION XI. DISCIPLINE AND MORAL INSTRUC- 
TION 

Use pamphlets, Self-Governihent Committee, 2 Wall Street, New York City. 

1. Moral Instruction 

The school and home must cooperate not only in making the child an 
intelligent citizen, but in forming his character to make him of good moral 
nature. First, the aims of moral instruction should be taken up and 
discussed and, second, the means to attain these ends. 

Collect from the committee members and individual club members a 
symposium on the aims of directed moral development and the amount 
of such instruction which can be and is given at home. What phases 
of character do not appear m the home and can be better treated in the 
school? What ones do appear in the home, but on account of reasons 
such as the reluctance of mothers to treat them, can be better treated in 
the school? 

Moral instruction is of two kinds, direct and indirect. Direct moral 
instruction aims to teach through precept, study, and lecture the rules 
of conduct. Indirect moral instruction includes development through 
the lesson of the particular occasion as it arises through unexpressed 
morals in stories, . good examples, and the inevitable consequences of 
immoral acts. Discuss the place in school for each of these branches of 
moral instruction. Can either be entirely omitted? 

Is any moral instruction given in the school and if so, is it direct or 
indirect? How can the home and school cooperate along this Une? 
Let each teacher tell what her ideas relating to this subject are and how 
she works them out. Other topics in this section will suggest some 
possible ways of organizing moral instruction in the school. 

2. The Rule of Fear » 

Many parents and teachers follow Solomon's dictum as to the rod and 
the child. Many others feel that it is not necessary to hurt a child to 
make him good and that fear is a degenerating rather than an ennobhng 
influence. These people feel that "mischief" is often the outcome of an 
over-supply of energy which should be directed instead of being supressed 
and punished. The child who makes trouble in home or schoolroom is 
frequently the child with much physical energy and can be worked with 
by giving him responsibility wisely, by supplying an outlet for energy, 
through physical exercise, and by other means. 

Is corporal punishment advisable? Is it used in local homes? Is it 
used in school? Can it be done away with? Discuss possible means. 
Do teacher's and parent's attitude toward a child suspected of being in 
need of whipping ever make it harder for him to be^^good? 



66 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



3. Truancy and Lying 

How many cases of truancy have there been in the school during the 
past year? Discuss this topic in the light of these instances, noting if 
any special causes are at work. 

Truancy may be inspired by any of several causes: a distaste for 
school leads some children to run away. This distaste may be purely 
individual and it may be caused by the fact that the school does not 
appeal to children as it should. Many schools for example find indus- 
trial work a cure for truancy. Truancy may be caused by the restless 
energy of a child which will not permit his being quiet in school. Will 
botanical excursions, geographical trips to nearby factories and other 
points of interest, playground apparatus and use help in this? Truancy 
may also be caused by lack of respect for school on the part of the home 
in which case the remedy lies within the home circle. Finally the cause 
may be laxness on the part of the teacher or truancy official which should 
be corrected. Other possible causes for truancy may be brought out and 
discussed. 

A common trouble with young children and children even in the adoles- 
cent period is that they seem unable to distinguish between truth and 
falsehood. How much of a real menace is this to their later development? 
Let the members of the committee glance back to find how frequently 
lies were told by them in their childish days. Do adults find it difficult 
to tell the truth? Do adults He to children, or in their presence? How 
many children's lies arise through fear, through the child's imagination 
and how many are of the kind which are properly designated as lies, 
that is, malicious perversions of truth? 

Is this the proper remedy for this kind of lying in children, punishment 
which may drive them into lying more and more to avoid punishment? 
Is the remedy to be found in ignoring this condition on the part of children? 
Most thinking people will answer "no" to both questions and decide that 
the remedies lie in a strict example of uprightness, and proper instruction 
on the part of elders. An explanation of why lying is not a good thing 
in our present society and a giving of the responsibility to the child may 
help in many cases and will do a great deal to eliminate deception in a 
natural way. It is ver^ often found that children who lie at home or in 
school will not lie to other children or cheat in the playing of games. 
Discuss the cause for this and how the school and home may make the 
standard of honor in the child high. 

4. Military Training* 

Discuss the possibilities of some military training for boys in the grades 
and in the high school. What are tTie advantages of this sort of work 
over ordinary physical training? (develops obedience, cooperation, 
patriotism, etc.) What are its disadvantages? (Develops miUtarism, 
blind obedience, leaves girls idle, etc.) Discuss the value of patriotism 



♦Write the American Union Against Militarism, Munsey Building, Washington, 
]). ('.., for pamphlets and a poster exhibit on this suljject. 



Discipline and Moral Instruction ('^7 

as compared with the value of internationahsm, or the spirit of humanity. 
Is miUtary training advisable for boys as opposed to a vigorous system of 
phys'cal training and gymnasium? 

5. School Discipline 

Decide what constitutes good school discipHne. Let teachers give 
their ideas on this subject. Discuss the discipline of immobility in which 
the ideal is to have as little moving on the part of the children as possible, 
the discipline of carelessness in which children are allowed to do as they 
please, the discipline of respect in which lining and respect for the teacher 
make children behave naturally and well, the discipline of interest in which 
school work is made so vital to the child that discipline does not need to 
be thought of, and the discipline of moral guidance in which children are 
wdsely given responsibility for their own conduct. Get the teacher in 
the school whose discipline best exemplififes the best of these forms of 
discipline to give an account of her methods in such a way that it will 
present suggestion^ for mothers and other teachers. 

6. Self-Govem-ment 

For this topic use the Self-Government Bulletins mentioned above. 
These bulletins will give ideas of what self-governemnt means in a school 
and how it has worked out in several places. Do you think the "objections 
answered" represent a good answer to the objections to this form of school 
organization? How much individual responsibility are children at present 
given in school? Some teachers assign "special duties" to each child 
such as watering the fern, winding the clock, seeing that the cloaks in 
the cloak room are hung correctly, passing the wastebasket, etc., in which 
children are given responsibility for schoolroom duties. Other teachers 
carry this responsibility one step farther and have a pupil captain, and a 
pupil court which is given responsibility for cases of pupil misconduct 
and which administers a penalty. Such work as this should be intro- 
duced very slowly into a school. There is more danger in responsibihty 
conferred upon children and then withdrawn than in its never being con- 
ferred. The plan must be introduced gradually and must take into 
consideration all possibilities of failure. 

7. Thrift 

One of th,e best ways to get children out of the way of In-eaking, des- 
troying, or wasting is to interest them in building, making, or saving. 
Too few children have any conception of what money means and the 
effort necessary to earn it, or the power which it is capable of storing 
when saved. When asked what a penny is, or what money is, children 
in the grades will often answer "something to buy candy with" or "some- 
thing to go to the movies with", showing that to them money is simply 
a thing to be spent. 

Let the teachers ask the pupils in each grade these questions: Have 
you a bank account? Have you a savings bank at home? Have you 



68 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



TODAY'S PENNIES MAKE 
TOMORROW'S DOLLARS 



Insert picture of 
savings bank 



A School Savings Bank 

Gives arithmetic practice 
Stimulates earning 
Develops responsibility 
Teaches the value of money 

GET THE CHILDREN TO SAVE 



PLATE XVI 



Discipline and Moral Instruction 69 

earned money during the past year and how? What did you do with 
the money which you earned? Do you keep an account of the money 
you spend? (Other questions may be included if desirable). It will be 
found that school children almost universally neglect the saving of money 
and, in many cases, the earning of it. Student earnings will be discussed 
in section 12— Industrial Work. Student saving may be considered 
here as contributing to the character building of the child. 

How can children be induced to save? Ask the local banker to speak 
on this subject. Write Supervising Principal, New Richmond, Wis- 
consin, for information as to the school savings bank established there. 
(See plate XVI). The school savings bank forms a center in which 
children may bring their earnings for safe-keeping and offers practical in- 
struction material in accounting and bookkeeping which will stimulate the 
desire to earn and save. What will the local banks be ready to do to 
promote this activity? 

Bibliography 

W. G. Bagley— School Discipline 

Self Government Pamphlets — Self Government Committee, 2 Wall St., 
New York City. 

Habit Club Booklets— Goodyear Marshall Publishing Co., Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa. 



SECTION XII. INDUSTRIAL WORK 

The school of today is developing in the direction of practical, or 
industrial work. In so far as this is an attempt to train the brain through 
the hand or to train the hand and brain simultaneously, it is a step forward. 
Where industrial work is not correlated with other school work, or where 
academic work does not include some industrial and vocational subjects, 
conditions are in need of improvement. In order to estimate the need 
for or the efTiciency of. industrial work, it is necessary to fmd out the con- 
ditions calling for instruction in this field and the effectiveness of the 
plans which have been devised to fit these conditions. 

1. Vocational Survey 

Make a map of the school district including any territory which may be 
outside the incorporated district but which sends pupils to the local 
school. Place a mark within this territory for each individual showing 
vocation or occupation. Make a cross for those in agriculture, a circle 
for those in store and clerical work, a square for professional workers — 
lawyers, pastors, etc. Then color the district with light water color 
wash showing regions, — the commercial region, the agricultural region, 
etc. Make a list of the number of people in each profession or vocation. 
What is the predominating interest of the district? WHiat sort of special 
industrial work should be stressed in the school? 

2. Establishment of Agriculture* 

How many pupils in the 7th and 8th grades and in the high school 
come from farms? How many 8th grade or high school graduates work on 
farms? Extend this study to the graduates for the past ten years to see 
what part the farm plays in the vocational needs of the local school grad- 
uates. 

Make a list of boys not attending school who are below 20 years of age. 
How many of these are working on farms? How many would attend an 
agricultural course were it given? 

Have the teachers ask the boys in school how many of them would take 
an agricultural course if the school offered such work. Show results graph- 
ically as in plate XVII. 

3. Administration of Agriculture 

Care must be taken after a course in industrial education is established 
to see that it is fitted to the needs of the special work. How much time is 
si)ent on the study of agriculture in the separate grades and high school? 

*To be used in communities where there is need for an agricultural course. The 
outline followed here for agriculture in connection with industrial work of some 
other nature may be used to work up an argument for introducing courses in manual 
training, domestic science, commerce, etc. Use data secured from topic 1. 



Industrial Work 71 



AGRICULTURE 



Of 243 high school boys having graduated from our town schools 
167 are on farms 



Of 97 boys under 20 not enrolled 
53 are on farms 



Of 121 boys in school 
64 would like work in agriculture 



A course in agriculture would 
Make better farmers 
Keep boys in school 
Increase interest in studies 



LET'S START AN AGRICULTURAL COURSE 



PLATE XVII 



72 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

In which grades is it ofTered? Ask the fathers of all boys who are taking 
agricultural work; (a) What should be accomplished in this work, (b) Of 
what value they think it is; (c) What suggestions they wish to make for 
alterations in or additions to the course of study? 

What per cent of the pupils are carrying on home or individual projects 
in agriculture? Is there a variation in these projects and do any of them 
mean a commercial profit for the children en-gaged in them? 

If an agricultural department is in operation, continuous services ol a 
special teacher is very necessary for a period of at least three years. Is 
the contract made for more than one year with this teacher? Many schools 
make a three year contract with the proviso that the agricultural teacher 
may be discharged at the end of any year if reasonable cause is found. 
The agricultural teacher should be hired for 11 months. Is this the case 
with the local teacher? If so, what account does he render of work done 
in the summer? Each boy in the course should be carrying on project 
work and the teacher should visit each one several times during the 
summer spending a day or two on each visit. Is a school plot operated? 
This should not be attempted without provision for summer supervision. 

Does the local school have contest clubs for the stimulation of agricul- 
tural activities? Can the parent-teacher association start a county con- 
test offering a small prize? Does the school take part in county contests? 
Has a school fair or exhibit been held? Such a harvest festival is valuable 
to show the more spectacular results of the year's work in agriculture and 
to bring citizens into touch with this branch of the school work. Discuss 
plans and advantages of such a festival and offer cooperation to principal 
and teacher in planning and executing one. 

Would there be a demand for a year course or a winter term course in 
your school? The state law authorizes a number of each. There are about 
11 altogether being held in the state at this time. Look up provisions for 
these courses in the School Code. 

Have any "Farmers' Week" programs been arranged in your vicinity? 
These may be organized under a national law which is administered in 
Wisconsin by the agricultural college of the University of Wisconsin. 
These weeks are frequently arranged by principals or agricultural teachers. 

4. Manual Training* 

In what grades is manual training offered? 

Number of students taking manual training? 

Amount of equipment? 

Cost of equipment? 

How furnished? 

What articles have been made during the year? 

What repair work has been'done? 

What home work for school credit? 

Of the articles made how many are for personal use? 

For the school? 

For the home? 

Where, if any where, is the equipment lacking? 

How much time a week is given to the work? 

From what studies is this time taken? 

Do children like the work.' 



*In case there is need for the establishment of courses in manual training, do- 
mestic science, commercial or other industrial lines, practically the same pro- 
cedure should he followed as that outlined in topic 2 concerning the establishment 
of agriculture. This topic presupposes the presence of the course. 



Industrial Work 73 

Get the teacher of manual training to speak on this subject. For sug- 
gestions and information regarding manual training, address J. M. Dorrans, 
Department of Public Instruction, Madison, Wisconsin. If there is no 
school credit for home work, it may be that this can be introduced by the 
club. 

5. Domeslic Science 

In discussing the universality of need for industrial subjects which 
will benefit boys, the fact is often lost sight of that practically all girls 
except such as enter the professions of teaching, clerking, etc., will need 
to know the principles and practice of domestic science, or home making. 
This will be true even in the case of a number of girls who go into occupa- 
tions for a few years and then become home makers. It is of great import- 
ance to each parent to be sure that instruction given in domestic science 
is full and practical. This topic covers study in a school where domestic 
science has been established. 

Get each mother of a girl taking domestic science to tell specifically 
what value the study has been to her daughter, what articles for food or 
apparel have been made at home, how many duties have been lightened, 
what the daughter thinks of the study in school, and what suggestions may 
be offered for its improvement. Discuss the relative advantages of good 
home training in domestic science and good school training in the subject, 
asking the domestic science teacher to speak on the results of school train- 
ing. How can the work in school be made practical through approximating 
school conditions to home conditions and through cooperating with the 
home to give credit for home work? Practically the same questions as for 
manual training should be answered in this topic. 



6. Coramercial Work 

Questions under topic 4 may be adapted to this subject. How do pupils 
gain their laboratory practice ih shorthand and bookkeeping? Are posi- 
tions open to graduates of the course? Why not report sermons and other 
addresses for practice in stenography? 

In accounting and bookkeeping, there is a mass of practical work 
which school children may do for their training, such as helping store- 
keepers to keep books for practice in accounting, keeping home accounts, 
keeping accounts of the school, typing reports, etc. Make suggestions 
to the teacher where there is a possibility of improvement. 



7. Vocational Guidance 

The consideration of vocational guidance has been general only within 
the past few years. Collect a group of representative opinions from busi- 
ness men and women in the "community on "Why I Chose the Occupation 
in Which I am at Present." Group the reasons as far as possible. 

Get the teacher to ask the school children to write down the names of 
occupations which they would like to fill when they grow up. What idea 



74 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

do these children have of the occupation which they wish to enter? How 
do they intend to train themselves for it? 

Discuss the reasons why it is necessary nowadays to have a knowledge 
of the several trades. Does the average boy get an insight into a number 
of fields, or does he fall into the first vocation which presents itself? 
Suggest to the principal that one or two representative citizens address 
the children in the upper grades or high school on "My Profession — Its 
Hardships and Rewards." Let the club be present and notice how the 
children seem to appreciate this information. On the Township Library 
List will be found a number of good books suitable for grades or high school 
giving information about the various occupations. 



SECTION XIII. RECREATION 



Children in and out of school must have a large quantity of recreation 
in order to keep well in mind and body. With the increasing density of 
population and the distribution of people into crowded spaces, this be- 
comes more and more of a problem to be solved. The city child often has 
inadequate facilities to play, because there is not space and supervision. 
The country child often never learns to play on account of the lack of 
playmates and direction for activities. The parent-teacher association 
can render valuable services by surveying the local recreation facilities 
and extending these where necessary or possible. 

Clubs working in a small or in a large city will find the report of the 
Madison Recreational Survey (price 50c) Madison Board of Commerce, 
Madison, Wisconsin, most valuable as a basis for the recreational work. 
Other clubs will wish to use the free bulletin on playground apparatus, 
Fresno State Normal School, Fresno, California, etc., (see list of bulletins, 
introduction). 

1. Supervision of District Facilities 

Make a complete study of the facilities for play in local town or city. 
If in a city, study the density of the population per block to show the con- 
gestion by wards. Are house lots and open spaces of good size? What or- 
ganizations promote recreation and how far do children share in the activi- 
ties of these? 

- List number of parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, gymnasiums, 
libraries, moving picture shows, dance halls, etc., which may be used as 
recreational units for children. A few of these will be taken up one by one in 
the topics to come. If others are of sufficient importance they should be 
studied in somewhat the same mgnner. At the end of this study the ques- 
tion should be — "How may we add to our facilities for child recreation? 
How may we control and if necessary eliminate harmful agencies.'" 

2. Playground and Equipment 

How large is the school playground (see section 4^"Physical Condi- 
tions.") How much playground apparatus is there? 

During recess at several different periods observe the children. How 
many of them are playing at all? What games are played and how mucli 
is playground apparatus used? Do they play in the school yard or outside? 
How many children stay indoors during the recess period? What part 
does the teacher take in organizing and directing play? Does the teacher 
ever play with the children? 



76 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

Observe or get the teacher's report on the child's recess activities on a 
stormy day. What do the children do? How many games are played and 
of what nature? Do all the children take part? In order that a school 
may not become listless and inattentive, it is essential that much attention 
should be paid to regular periods of physical exercise and game playing. 

When ch'ldren are allowed to sit idle in their seats during recess on 
account of the rain outside, instead of playing indoor games, singing, or 
exercising in other ways, it is a direct detriment to the work of the rest 
of the school day. The teacher will find also that selection of songs or 
exercises of the children on different occasions will do much to tone up 
to work or down to a business-like attitude when this is needed. 

The activities of the club as to recreation may be divided into three 
groups. 

a. The club may provide playground apparatus or may encourage the 
building of such apparatus by the club or public minded parents in the 
community. (See Fresno bulletin). It is most important that children should 
have swings, teeters, giant strides, climbing ladders, volley ball courts, 
parallel bars, etc., on which to exercise and develop the physical activities. 

b. The organization may also provide recreational facilities for indoor 
use on stormy days. This will include balls and other game materials as 
well as the purchase of a manual on indoor games which may be used by 
the teacher in directing the play. Write the Anti-Tuberculosis Association 
at Milwaukee for a copy of their bulletin on school games. 

c. The club may encourage the school to appoint one of the teachers 
director of play with duties lightened elsewhere if possible to give her time 
for this work, or may agitate the providing of a recreational supervisor 
for the school. Such a recreational supervisor would teach physical cul- 
ture, supervise playground and recess pericd^ organize "hikes," organize 
and direct boy scouts and camp fire girls' clubs. It is sometimes found 
advisable to engage such a person at club expense for a short period to 
demonstrate the need and possibilities of such a person to be employed 
permanently by the school board. 



3. Parks, Vacant Lots, Alleys, Etc. 

Go about on an afternoon after school is out or on Saturday and dis- 
cover where it is that children play. How many of them use the local parks? 
How many use vacant lots? What alleys are used and in what cases do 
children play in the streets? How can the street be eliminated as a play- 
ground? What can be done to the park to make it more attractive as a 
recreational center? May playgrounds be established in vacant lots where 
children can go to play? 

Do enough children play out-of-doors? How many go into the country 
fishing, hunting, etc.? What do the girls do for recreation? It must be 
remembered that girls need active outdoor sports just as much as boys and 
that too often girls will be found sewing, reading, dressing dolls or talking 
when their physical and mental development requires that they be climb- 
ing fences, playing tag or otherwise using their developing muscles. 



Recreation 77 



4. The Movies 

In attending the local movies find out how many children are in attend- 
ance and how great a proportion of the audience is children. With these 
facts in mind what can be done to make the movies a source of helpful enjoy- 
ment to children? Many cities have out-door movies in the summer time 
where the evils of bad ventilation are to a great extent overcome. Many 
schools have a moving picture machine, often used too seldom, which shows 
clean and educational films to children. Some cities exercise censorship on 
the movies shown. Often agreements may be made with the proprietors 
to procure films of literary or educational value or to eliminate objection- 
able films. The city council may be of help in this direction. Children who 
go to the movies too frequently are likely to injure their eyes, not to 
mention other evil effects. 

5. Other Forms of Commercial Amusement 

Many communities will be found to make organized efforts to provide 
helpful amusements for their young people. One Wisconsin city owns a 
roller skating rink where for a nominal admission charge sufficient to 
cover the cost of up-keep, children may gain helpful exercise. Another Wis- 
consin city owns a municipal auditorium in which entertainments may be 
given by the young people. Is anything of this sort done in your locality? 

How many children of school age attend local public dances? How many 
local private dances are held to which children are invited? Many villages 
and cities have decided that dancing is not itself a detrimental activity, 
and have organized school dances at which teachers are present as chaper- 
ones in order to provide young people with this popular amusement in a 
regulated form. This is, of course, more of a problem with the high school 
than with the grades. 

What good recreational activities may be substituted for the evil or 
negative ones so that their appeal to boys will be effective? The Y. M. C. A. 
the gymnasium, the boy scouts, the swimming pool, all help materially 
in reducing the appeal of commercialized recreational agencies. 

6. Recreational Clubs 

Use a copy of the Boy Scout Handbook which should be in the local 
library or should be purchased for 50c from Grosset & Dunlap, New York 
City. Also write Camp Fire Girls' Association for material along this Une. 
Discuss the dangers and possibilities of the boys' gang. What have gangs 
done iyjT good or for evil in the locality? How does the boy scout move- 
ment turn this spirit of the boys into a force for good? Discuss the ideals 
and aims of the Camp Fire Girls. Can such an organization be formed in 
the locality under the leadership of the teacher or principal or better of 
some athletic, sympathetic and pubhc-minded adult in the community? 
The young men and women not engaged in professional work are well 
adapted to direct these activities. 



SFXTION XIV. THE HIGH SCHOOL' 



If the parcnt-lcacher association using this bulletin has for its special 
field of study the high school, it will be found that much of the work in 
previous sections may be related to this problem, e. g. sections on physical 
conditions, the school teacher, industrial work, etc. The topics under this 
section are intended to cover studies which would not to any extent enter 
into work with graded schools. 

1. Elimination 

Much is being written of recent years concerning the small number of 
children who go through the public school system from the 1st grade 
through high school. Out of 100 children entering the first grade it 
is computed that a very small per cent finish a high school course. That 
this percentage should be raised is one of the theses of modern educational 
development. 

Follow back the records of the senior graduating class in the high school 
to the first grade out of which this class was recruited. 

How many and what per cent of the first grade twelve years ago are 
to be found in the high school graduating class? Of the others, how many 
(a) are still in local schools (b) have graduated from the local schools (c) 
are still in school somewhere (d) have left school and are doing nothing 
(e) have gone to work (f) are dead or lost track of? Graph these facts by 
the bar or circle method. (See appendix and show graphically in a chart). 

What proportion of the children entering primary grades finish high 
school? Of the graduating class in the high school, how many have com- 
pleted school in twelve years? How many have taken more than this lime 
and how many less? For the past year and, if possible, for several years 
back, find how many of the pupils graduating from the local eighth grade 
have entered the high school. What proportion of all eighth grade grad- 
uates go on to high schools as shown by local conditions? Is this the place 
where the break comes and the greatest proportion drop out? If not, at 
what point in the grades is this the case? Out of each 100 children enrolled 
in the first grade, what proportion will be found in the high school? (See 
plate XVIII). 

Discuss possible means of keeping more children in school through the 
grades from the first to the twelfth. The overage problem is vitally con- 
nected with this one of elimination, as over age pupils tend to become 
discouraged and drop out. Get the high school principal to talk on what 
can be done to keep 100 per cent of the children in school. 

2. Resident and Nonresident Pupils 

As a result of the law compelling local districts not maintaining high 
schools to pay tuition for such students as wish to attend high schools 

♦Throughout thi.s topic, use the files of annual reports from local high school 
principals to the State Department of Public Instruction, available in high school 
office. 



The High School 



79 









































47 out of 

each 100 

finish 8th 

grade 




10- 


Ul 


10 out of 






12- 


XI 


■ 


each 100 
finish high 


15- 


-X 


school 








22- 


-IX 












47 children- 


Grade VIII 












Si children- 


-Grade VII 












56 children- 


-Grade VI 










63 children 


-Grade V 






6& children- 


-Grade IV 








6S chiidren- 


-Grade III 












71 children 


-Grade II 










105 children— Grade I 




WI 


: DON'T KEEP 


CHILDREN IN SCHOOL. CAN ^ 


'E? 



PLATE XVni 



80 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

elsewhere, there are a great number of nonresident students in the high 
schools of Wisconsin. Such children should be encouraged to go to school 
and the district in which they attend should try to promote their welfare. 

On a county map locate the nearby high schools and in general the 
district from which the local high school might draw its students. How 
many schools in this district? How many graduates from eighth grade in 
all of these schools at the last graduation? How many of these graduates 
are to be found in the local high school or in any high school? 

Does this study show that children attending schools where there is no 
high school keep on in school as do children in localities where there are 
high school facilities? If possible find out from one or two rural or state 
graded schools in the district why children have not continued school after 
graduating from the eighth grade. Do they know the advantages of high 
school work? Could any one present these to them? 

What is done in the locality for nonresident pupils? Are they helped to 
get good living places? Do the churches do something for them? Is any 
recreation provided for? Can the club help in securing work for such as 
need it? It is a fact that the presence of nonresident pupils helps a town 
commercially — because of the increased business resulting and education- 
ally because of the better conditions possible with a larger enrollment. 
Can the club encourage nonresident enrollment? 

It is sometimes the case that nonresident pupils are not sufficiently 
looked after to keep them out of mischief and that supervision by local 
school authorities is needed. If this is the case in your locality, discuss 
remedies with the principal. 



3. The Town and Union High Schools 

The town high school has a territory covering a full town about 36 
square miles. The union high school is formed by the union of sections of 
territory for high school purposes. It must include at least 36 square miles 
but may be of any convenient shape and may include more than this 
amount of territory. State aid is granted to both town and union high 
schools. (See School Code.) 

Discuss the advantages or possible disadvantages of a union high 
school. If it is found that this organization would be advisable, public 
meetings may be held and citizens of neighboring districts may organize 
a union district according to legal steps for the erection and maintenance 
of a union high school. The advantage of such a school to citizens outside 
the district is that no tuition need then be paid to a district maintaining a 
high school for students who may attend. The disadvantage, of course, 
would be that the districts would participate in all high school expenses. 



4. The Six-Six Plan 

Many schools find that the twelve grades may better be organized with 
a division between the 6th and 7th grades so that the 7th, 8th, and 9th 
grades are organized together as an intermediate school, or a junior high 
school, and the 10th, 11th, and 12th as the senior high school. A bulletin 



The High School 81 

published in 1916 by the Minnesota State Department of Education, St. 
Paul, Minn., gives advantages and disadvantages of this system, as well 
as information concerning it. 

Some of the advantages are — better formed course of study, encourage- 
ment of initiative on the part of pupils, encourages more secondary and 
high school education, permits departmental teaching, ' enables children 
to come in contact with more male teachers, holds pupil in school longer. 

The disadvantages are — ^increased cost and energy necessary, lack of 
specially trained teachers, throws out grammar school subjects, may 
be a change in name only. 



5. Dropped, Failed, and Promoted 

Secure a copy of the latest report made by the high school principal 
to the state departmet of public instruction. In this you will find a 
record of the enrollment in each study given in the high school, the 
number of pupils enrolled, those dropped, failed and promoted. 

By computing percentages, find out what subject fails the most pupils 
proportionately and in which subject most pupils are found to drop. If 
possible make this study for several years using former reports. It will 
probably be found that the freshman subjects, algebra, history, English, 
etc., fail the most pupils, with geometry a subject in which many also 
fail. In connection with this compute the proportion of students who 
fail each year and take the same percentage of the instructional expenses 
(total) for the high school to find how much it costs the local district to 
have high school pupils fail. Make a chart giving this information (See 
plate XXII Appendix on Method) 

Do boys or girls fail to a larger extent? If you are interested get like 
data on other nearby high schools to see which high school makes the 
better showing as to the number of children passed. 

6. The High School Alumni 

Using the high school enrollment for the last four years find out the 
number of pupils who have been in high school for sometime during this 
period but who are no longer attending. Separate these into (a) graduates 
(b) students who have left school without graduating. (If students have 
left to attend other schools do not count them.) 

Determine for each individual — graduates and students dropped — the 
present occupation. In the case of which group is it better? Can this be 
made an argument for high school attendance and graduation? 

7. Work for High School Students 

These are some of the things which high school students have done for 
local communities: 

Testing food during chemistry class to detect adulteration 
Making posters and signs for local functions in art class 
Running a lunch counter at which citizens might buy food 
Testing cows, corn, etc., for farmers in the community 



82 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

Selling tested seed to farme s 

Keeping home or store account ledgers for bookkeeping practice 
Writing up a column of school notes in the local newspapers 
Making articles in manual training or industrial work for home, school 
or commercial trade. 

How many, if any, of these activities are now carried on in connection 
wilh the local high school? How many community services not listed 
here are being done? Ask each teacher to report informally as to how the 
instruction in her class is made a direct service to the community. Ask 
also what services not now rendered the teacher would like to incorporate 
into the course of study. Which of these are feasible? 



8. School Athletics and Contests 

Make a complete list of all forms of school athletics carried on in the 
local school and the number and names of pupils engaged in each. How 
many children in the high school do not participate in any form of ath- 
letics? What proportion? What athletics are carried on for the girls and 
what proportion of the girls participate in these? 

Discuss the value of athletics for the girl as well as for the boy. Get the 
teacher most interested on this subject to speak on it. 

Have athletics for boys been carried so far as to hurt, school work, or 
injure the boys? What cases, if any, of accidents or disablements have 
occurred on account of school athletics? Keep in mind the necessity and 
importance of abundant properly directed play. Discuss ways and 
means to make athletics for both boys and girls the most complete and 
efficient system possible. 

What other sorts of contests (a) with other schools (b) in local schools 
are held? Has the school a debating team? Are competitions in subjects 
ever held? Find from the teacher the extent to which work of this sort is 
done. 

9. Clubs and Organizations 

Let the teachers find from each of the boys and girls of what clubs or 
associations they are a member — include social clubs, literary societies, 
school committees, officers of class, athletic clubs, boy scouts, church 
organizations and all other such clubs. 

Compute the number of pupils who are in no club, one club, two clubs, 
etc., and of the highest number of organizations of which any one pupil 
is a member. Is there a great discrepancy, that is, do a few pupils belong to 
a great number of clubs while many are entirely omitted? (Names need not 
be taken on the lists of clubs handed in if desired). Make a list also of the 
total number of possible organizations or clubs to which pupils may belong 
from the lists handed in. When do these organizations hold meetings? 
How often do they come? What meetings come on school nights or on 
afternoons after school? Is this a good thing in the case of (a) outdoor 
clubs (b) literary and study clubs (c) social organizations? 

Do school clubs seem to serve a useful and constructive purpose? (Bear 
*n mind that amusement is a necessary activity of a boy or girl of high 



The High School 83 

school age if the sort of amusement indulged in is not harmful.) If there 
is unevenness in the number belonging to clubs, that is, if a number of 
students are entirely left out, what can be done to provide organization 
life for these pupils? Are there any clubs whose activities are positively 
harmful and which should be eliminated? 

10. High School Boys and Girls 

Do any of the high school boys hang around street corners, railroad 
station, pool rooms, or other cheap amusement places in the community? 
Do any engage in the smoking of cigarettes? Are there any troublesome 
"gangs"? If these things are found, it will be well to consult with the 
high school principal and teachers so that they may be eUminated and 
healthful lines of activity be substituted for high school boys. 

What should be the dress of the average high school girl? Are there any 
who overdress? What can be done to prevent this by mothers or 
or by the school? A few high schools have adopted high school uniform of 
some simple kind. Would this help the high school girls to dress sensibly 
and sanely? 

Discuss the health and recreation of the high school girl. How may she 
be induced to take sufficient healthful outdoor exercise so that her school 
duties will not injure her health? Do girls frequent the railroad station at 
train time? Is amusement indulged in by any to an extreme extent? If 
so, it, will be well to consult with high school authorities as to the means 
of eliminating this. 



SECTION XV. HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ORGAN- 
IZATIONS 



This section is not so much a study to better local conditions as a study 
in the opportunities offered by higher educational organizations in Wis- 
consin and throughout the country. The club which knows where it can 
get help has a multitude of sources of assistance to which to turn and the 
main purpose of this chapter is to suggest a few of them. 

1. Our Contribution to Higher Education 

Look over the list of high school graduates for the past ten years and 
determine how many (and what per cent) have attended higher institu- 
tions of learning. How many have gone into teaching; how many into law; 
medicine; into each of other vocations and how many have returned to 
the community? 

How many college graduates are there in the community? (Estimate if 
necessary). Get one or two of these people to talk to the club on the ad- 
vantages of a college education and the things which college or university 
meant to the individual. Secure a catalog of the universities and colleges 
nearest by and look them over to see what possibilities are to be found in 
the university which are not already obvious to the club. 

Get one of the recent graduates, preferably one who has himself worked 
his way through college, to talk to the high school on methods by which 
a boy or girl may earn his or her college education. Look through the uni- 
versity and college catalogs to find what scholarships are offered. Write 
the Employment Committee, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wiscon- 
sin, for information as its field of activity and possible service to local 
students who would otherwise not be able to meet the expenses of a college 
course. Ask students in the graduating class what vocation they would 
like to pursue and look up for them the college or university which will 
give them best training along this line. (Write Legislative Reference 
Library, Madison, Wisconsin, or School Service, Department of Public 
Instruction, Madison, Wisconsin.) 

2. Department of Public Instruction 

The Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction offers help to 
local organizations in a large number of ways. A number of bulletins 
along educational lines have been issued dunng the past few years and 
these will be found of value to school officers and other citizens. See 
introduction for a list of bulletins which are available. 

The Educational News Bulletin is issued monthly, except in July and 
August, to give the educational news of the state and "to make the best 
in one school contagious to all." 



Higher Educational Organizations 85 

Supervisors are constantly traveling over the state to visit schools and 
make suggestions for their improvement. Such supervisors may be se- 
cured for talks and suggestions in a given locality if adequate notice is 
given and if conditions make it possible. 

The school service in. the department of public instruction is an organ- 
ized center of information to give help through correspondence to teachers 
in service throughout the state and also to any citizen wishing information 
or suggestions along educational lines. Write School Service, Department 
of Public Instruction, Madison, Wisconsin. 



3. The Extension Division 

Use the extension division section of the general university catalog or 
write the Extension Division, Madison, for copies of their bulletins of 
information as to service to be rendered by this organization. A few of 
the many services possible are listed here. 

(a) bulletins are issued giving valuable information along many lines. 
A list of these may be procured by writing 

(b) the hygienic laboratory tests water and other substances so as to 
show communities whether their living conditions are healthful or not. 
This is only one of the activities of the hygienic laboratory 

(c) the bureau of visual instruction sends out moving picture films and 
stereopticon slides on all of a great variety of educational and informational 
subjects 

(d) the extension division furnishes speakers for programs in any part 
of the state 

(e) the package library of the extension division sends out packages 
of material on a great number of recent questions including clippings, 
magazine articles, bulletins, pamphlets, and other valuable material for 
debates, speeches, etc. 

(f ) the agricultural extension division aids farmers by carrying on experi- 
ments to determine the seed best adapted to Wisconsin soils; by giving 
advice and information along agricultural subjects and in a great number 
of other ways 

(g) all these services rendered by the extension division are free except 
for paying the charges on material sent, etc. 



4. Free Library Commission 

The Wisconsin Free Library Commission (Madison) is equipped to 
send books to any individual or organization in the state of Wisconsin 
charging only the postage required to transport the books. Free traveling 
libraries are made up in sets of fifty books along definite lines such as 
agriculture, travel, fiction, etc., which may be procured for a given length 
of time. Any individual wishing a book on a certain subject may procure 
such a book through the Free Library Commission if it is not a subject 
which is not available. Write the Free Library Commission for a full 
statement of the services it is prepared to render. 



86 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 



5. State Normal Schools and County Superintendent 

The normal schools are developing more and more a service to the terri- 
tory in which they are situated. Faculty members take charge of meetings 
and institutes upon request, give suggestions upon educational topics, 
supervise schools where supervision is requested and are seeking in every 
way to render any educational service possible. 

County superintendents issue bulletins and periodicals of information 
for schools, organize school contests, are always \\illing to speak at meetings 
if possible and will be ready to give educational help when called upon. 
Write the superintendent of your county for a statement as to possible 
services of his office to your club. The supervising teacher is also a source 
of help. 

6. The National Bureau 

The National Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C, is perhaps the 
most fruitful source of printed bulletin helps in education. About fifty 
bulletins a year are issued dealing with all phases of modern education 
in a constructive way. Write for a copy of the latest bulletin issued and 
you will find on the inside covers a list of all bulletins formerly issued which 
are available. The latest report of the Commissioner of Education to the 
Secretary of the Interior, available upon request, will also give an account 
of other services renderd by this department. 

7. Other General Agencies 

These are the days of organized associations to further educational 
progress. In almost every field of modern educational thought there will 
be found a society or association issuing pamphlets and bulletin literature 
which is formed for the distinct purpose of furthering the line of activity 
for which it is organized. Many of these societies have already been re- 
ferred to in the course of this outline. A partial list will be given below. 
If you wish to find the names of a society working in a field not indicated 
here write School Service, Department of Public Instruction, Madison, 
Wisconsin. 

Children's Bureau, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C. 
(Child care and child labor bulletins) 

National Kindergarten Association, 250 Madison Ave., New York City, 
(Kindergarten literature) 

National Child Labor Committee, Niw York City, (Child Labor) 

Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, West 39th Street, 
New York City, (Industrial and Vocational education.) 

Self (Government Committee, Citizens League, 2 Wall Street, New York 
City, (Self government and school discipline.) 

Russell Sage Foundation, 130 East 23rd Street, New York City, (Recre- 
ation, school surveys and general.) 

General Education Board, 61 Broadway, New York City, (General). 

Institute for Public Service, 51 Chambers Street, New York City, 
(General). 

National Education Association, Durand W. Springer, Sec'y-. Ann 
Arbor, Michigan, (General) 

Playground & Recreational Association of America, 1 Madison Avenue, 
New York City, (Recreation and school health) 

Wisconsin Anti-Tuberculosis Association, Milwaukee, Wis. (School 
health). 



XVI. SCHOOL FINANCES 

It is often overlooked by an organization studying the schools that the 
finances of the school system form a key to its efficiency and that a study 
of school finances will reveal perhaps more interesting facts and possi- 
bilities than any other one study. 

In an analysis of the schools of the state, it was found that some spent 
two-thirds again as inuch on teaching salaries as did other Wisconsin cities; 
that the amount spent on control (board of education, school census, 
superintendent's salary, office expenses, truancy, etc.) varies 1600 per cent 
among 79 cities; that the expense of school maintenance (repairs, insur- 
ance, etc.) varies 3800 per cent. Why should one school spend less than 
one-half of its income in paying teachers, while another spends three- 
fourths? What branch of the school system gets the biggest slice of the 
money available? These are questions which, if answered wisely, will 
throw a flood of light on the efficiency of the school system. 

1. Taxes 

An analysis of the amount of taxes paid for school purposes will show 
whether the local district is liberal or parsimonious in maintaining its 
schools. A district with a high property valuation will of course find it 
possible to raise more money for school purposes than the district where 
the valuation is low. 

What is the assessed valuation of the local school district? What was 
the total tax during the past year? How much of the money raised went 
for education (a) local, (b) county or state? What then is the millage tax 
for local education? Compare this amount with the millage tax in ten 
cities or villages of approximately the same size; with five large cities such 
as Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Paul, etc., and with five rural districts. 
(Figures as to the millage tax are obtainable by writing the office of the 
superintendent or principal of the schools in each instance. These letters 
may be written by grade pupils for language practice.) 

Where are local school taxes found highest, in thinly, average, or thickly 
settled communities? It will probably be found that taxes are much the 
lowest in the rural communities and highest in the cities. Several reasons 
for this may be found: 

a. Expenses are higher in the cities. 

b. The direct income of the farmer is far smaller than that of the average 
village or city business man. 

c. Salaries are larger in cities and villages as better trained teachers are 
employed. 

d. City people are willing to pay higher taxes than people in smaller 
communities. 

e. City communities are not content with schools of as inexpensive a 
type generally as are rural and village people. 



88 



Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 





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School Finances 89 

In comparison are the local taxes high for the class of school being 
studied? If high how is the fact to be explained? If low are the reasons to 
be found in state aid, much nonresident tuition, economical management, 
or a poor standard for the school system? These figures will be found 
excellent material for a chart on finances on the order of Plate XIX. 

2. Analysis of School Income 

From the clerk of the school board or the school superintendent obtain 
a statement of the total school income during the most recent complete 
school year. What proportion of it was obtained through direct taxation? 
(For the state as a whole this is about 36 per cent.) What proportion is 
obtained through state and county taxes, non-resident tuition, sale of 
texts, etc.? What proportion is composed of nonrevenue receipts, that is, 
money which has been loaned to the local school system? For what have 
loans been contracted? 

Is the school system in debt and if so to what extent and for what cause? 
How long will it take to pay off the indebtedness? 

3. Analysis of School Expenditures 

Procure the report of the superintendent or principal to the state super- 
intendent of public instruction or county superintendent for the latest 
year for which this is available. Expenses are divided in the following 
manner : 

Control — 

1. Board of Education and the secretary's office 

2. School census 

3. Finance offices and accounts 

4. Legal services 

5. Operation and maintenance of office building 

6. Officers in control of buildings and supplies 

7. Salary of the superintendent of schools 

8. Expenses of office of superintendent of schools 

9. Enforcement of compulsory education and truancy laws 
10. Other expenses of general control 

Instruction — 

1. Salaries of supervisors of grades or of subjects 

2. Other expenses of supervision 

3. Salaries of principals and their clerks 

4. Other expenses of prin'ipals 

5. Salaries of men teachers. (Do not include amount withheld for 

pension and retirement fund.) 

6. Salaries of women teachers. (Do not include amount withheld for 

pension md retirement fund.) 

7. Textbooks 

8. Stationery and supplies used in instruction 

9. Materials used in manual training and domestic science 
10. Other expenses of instruction 

Operation of School Plant — 

1. Wages of janitors and other employees 

2. Fuel 

3. Water 

4. Light and power 

5. Janitor's supplies 

6. Other expenses of operation of school plant 



90 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

Maintenance of School Plant — 

1 . Repair of buildings and upkeep of grounds 

2. Repair and replacement of equipment 

3. Insurance 

4. Other expenses of maintenance of school plant 

Miscella.ieous — 

1 . Salaries of librarians and assistants 

2. Library books 

3. Other expenses of libraries 

4. Salaries of physicians and nurses 

5. Other expenses of promotion of health 

6. Transportation of pupils 

7. Payments to other districts 

8. Teachers' pension and retirement fund 

9. Rent 

10. Other miscellaneous expenses 

Ouilaijs — 

1. Land 

2. New buildings 

3. Alteration of old buildings (not included in line 30) 

4. Equipment of new buildings and grounds 

5. Equipment of old buildings, ex-^lusive of replacements 

6. Redemption of bonds 

7. Redemption of short-term loans 

8. Payments of warrants and orders of preceding years 

9. Payments of sinking funds 

10. Payments of interest 

11. Miscellaneous payments including payments to trust funds, text- 

books to be sold to pupils, etc. 

Outlays are expenses which do not come frequently such as payment of 
loans, purchase of land, erection of new building or additions, etc. They 
are not ordinarily to be considered in computing costs for the school. 

What are the proportionate expenditures for these various items in 
your school? Plate XX gives the proportion of the state money which is 
expended for each of the various purposes. Show cause where one item is 
higher than the state average, or is greater than it needs to be. Many 
schools find it possible to pay over 60 per cent of expenditures for teachers' 
salaries and this is to be commended. Analyze expenses to see what items 
are entirely omitted in the local schools. For example, what does the 
school spend, if anything, for the promotion of health in pupils? Might 
the library expenditure be larger to good advantage? 



4. Unit Costs 

The unit cost of any activity is its cost per individual benefited. Per 
capita cost for the school as a whole is obtained by dividing the total 
expenditures excluding outlays by the total number of pupils.* To find 
per capita cost, make a table such as the following: 



*Pcr capitf co.st for Wisconsin city schools, grade and higii school children both 
included — $.'35.00, 1914-1915, — based on total enrollment. 



School Finances 



91 



(a) Total number of pupils enrolled 

(b) Total expenditures of the school 

(r,) Outlays 

(d) Expenditures for all current purposes 

(subtract (c) from (b) 

(e) Per capita cost 

(divide (d) by (a) ) 

The unit cost of overhead (operation, maintenance, control, and mis- 
cellaneous) of a school is found by dividing the cost of these four items by 
the total number of pupils enrolled. The cost of instruction per pupil 
is obtained by dividing total teaching salaries by total number of pupils. 
Compute the overhead and cost of instruction per pupil in the local schools. 

Now take the enrollment by grades and salaries of teachers by grades. 
Compute the teaching expense per pupil in each of the various grades. 
When you come to the high school, it will not be possible to separate by 



WHERE DOES OUR DOLLAR GO? 




PLATE XX 



92 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

9th, lOlh, nth, and 12th grades, but it will be necessary to compute 
instructional cost per pupil for the high school as a whole. (See high school 
principal's report to the state superintendent.) 

It may be advisable or interesting to compute unit costs by subject 
studied, especially in the high school. The method of doing this is as 
follows : Suppose that a history teacher teaches 5 classes a day and receives 
$600.00 salary for the year. Each class which she teaches would cost one- 
fifth of $600.00, or $120.00. Suppose that there are 20 pupils in her class. 
The cost of teaching each one of these pupils this subject for a school year 
would be one-twentieth of $120.00 or $6.00. A computation of the com- 
parative costs of high school subjects will be found valuable. Which are 
the most expensive? In computing this, the costs are usually shown in 
terms of 100 student hours. For example, for the history class above 
studied, the cost per student hour is 3|c and the cost per 100 student hours 
would be $3.33. 

5. School and Other Civic Activities 

It will be valuable to determine how much the school costs in comparison 
with other local activities. Get from the town, village, or city clerk a 
record of activities and expenditures for the past year. What part of this 
do the school expenditures represent? Compare in detail how much the 
community spends for schools in comparison to what it spends for admin- 
istrative expenses, fire protection, board of health expenses, etc., etc. 

6. Cost of Recommendation 

As each topic in this outline is presented to the club it will be noted that 
they may be divided into three sorts — (a) to involve no financial outlay (b) 
to involve added expense for the schools or citizens (c) to involve a possible 
saving for the schools. For all problems coming under heads (b) and (c) 
compute the cost or the amount of saving possible. Obtain from the school 
clerk the assessed valuation of the school district. Divide this into the 
amount raised by the local district for the maintenance of its schools dur- 
ing the year. Compute the proportions which the yearly school cost 
represents of the assessed valuation of the school district. 

No district may legally borrow money for school purposes to more than 
five per cent of its assessed valuation. What limit does this place on possi- 
ble outlay expenditures for the local schools? 

Go very carefully through all recommendations which have been made 
to determine what they will mean in an added tax burden and which of 
them had better be abandoned or put off on this account. Revise club list 
of recommendations to make it as practical and economical as possible. 
Every school district should be willing to increase expenditures in order to 
increase school efficiency but there is inevitably a point beyond which in- 
creased expenditures would not bring returns to compensate for the 
added tax burden. 

7. Budget 

A budget is a collection of estimated expenditures for consideration of 
the taxpayers in a district or for the common council or a city council in a 



School Finances 93 

city. It should include estimated probable expenditures for teaching 
salaries, fuel, janitor expenses and all the main points shown in the financial 
report of past expenditures to the state superintendent. 

Get from the school clerk a full account of budget methods in the dis- 
trict. How closely are items estimated for any coming year? Is money 
appropriated separately by items or in a lump sum for the schools as a 
whole? After money has been appropriated, is it redistributed according 
to budget estimates or are changes made in distribution? The an- 
nual school meeting comes the first Monday in July. Before this time 
get a member of the school board to talk to the club on the board's esti- 
mates for expenses in the coming year. Invite the board to be present at a 
club meeting and make report to them and to the club as to what recom- 
mendations should be considered which will involve some expenditure. 
In the case of any club recommendations which will take added funds 
suggest to the school board that it incorporate provision for these in its 
report at the annual meeting. 

Every voter in the district should attend the annual school meeting to 
talk over projects for the good of the schools. Why not make this a live 
affair instead of the dead routine meeting which is held in most locahties? 
It is on this occasion that the good of the schools may be most materially 
advanced by the citizens of the community — it is their opportunity to 
benefit the school system. If possible, hold the school exhibit at this time 
and urge all citizens to come out for the annual meeting. There is no 
reason why a brief program should not be presented at this meeting with 
speakers and musical numbers. 



s. C.-4 



XA II. THE SCHOOL EXHIBIT 

At the close of the year's work, the club's school exhibit should be held 
in cooperation with the school authorities. In case that not all the sections 
presented in this outline can be covered there, it is better to cover a few 
thoroughly, than to cover a great many in a slip-shod manner. The ex- 
hibit should consider only those which have been exhaustively studied. 

Each study which the club makes should furnish one or more charts on 
the lines of those which are scattered through this outline as suggestions. 
These charts should be colored where possible. In addition to the charts 
there should be graphical respresentations by means of objects, models, 
etc. For example in the work on the school lunch it will be well to have 
several tempting lunches prepared along good dietary lines and exhibited 
together with the chart giving menus. If it is desired to show graphically 
the difference in earning power between the boy with a high school educa- 
tion and the boy without, a number of coins representing the day's earning 
of each may be fastened under a glass cover with the caption — "Which 
would you rather have?" and an explanation of the meaning. There should 
be an outside speaker at the school exhibit. The superintendent or prin- 
cipal should also be called upon to speak. A good topic for the latter 
would be — "What I would do for the schools with a bequest of $10,000." 

A word of caution with regard to charts and exhibits may be in order. 
It is essential that everything be made constructive, that is, that the remedy 
be shown along with the bad condition. Should the club show floors nrt 
scrubbed often enough, school grounds unbeautified, desks in poor condi- 
tion or other backward features of the school system, there should always 
be included the remedy, perhaps usually with a "Why not make this 
better" or "Your interest will help" or "Let's have more windows in the 
schoolhouse!" 

This exhibit may include samples of school work by school pupils such 
as form the staple of ordinary school exhibits. It may also include a pro- 
gram by the school children. Much emphasis should be placed upon the 
club studies which have brought results previous to the time of the exhibit. 
It may be well to have a booth marked "Results already attained" wherein 
are grouped the charts showing conditions which have already been reme- 
died by the action of the club. Lunch served by th? domestic science girls, 
tables or racks made by the manual training boys, a little play or special 
program, a sample quarter session of regular school work, all would con- 
tribute to the success of such a school exhibit as this. 

Objects should be used as much as possible. An effective method of chart 
mak'ng is to lie or fasten to the heavy cardboard the object which is 
needed for graphic representation^e. g. bank, textbook, or other article. 

In conclusion it must not be supposed that because a study is made one 
year the same study should not be repeated during other years. In one 
county in Wisconsin the number of children using toothbrushes was 
found to increase by over 100 per cent between one year and the next. 
If the county superintendent had ceased getting this data after the first 
year, it would not have been kno.vn what the results of this study were. 
It is very valuable especially in connection with studies where improve- 
ment is most needed that yearly analysis be made to show progress and 
opjinrlunily for advancement. 



APPENDIX ON METHOD 



To study local conditions intelligently, it is necessary nowadays to be 
acquainted with means of collecting, arranging, and interpreting figures. 

Moreover, the duty of a club is not done when it merely instructs itself 
on school questions. It must also educate and inform other. citizens, so 
that all will have the benefit of studies made. It should hold a school 
exhibit (see section 17) at the close of the year's work, and show there 
charts and posters concerning school facts. This section aims to tell how 
a club may best work with figures. 

You will need 

several colors of chalks and inks 

a protractor to measure angles 

a ruler 

a compass 

squared paper (squares about 1-4 inch) 

large chart paper (18"x28") 

pencils, pens, etc. 

You will need to know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, and 
also how to obtain a percentage (ordinarily by dividing the larger into the 
smaller number). 

The first thing is to be sure that your figures to start on are complete. 
Don't leave out any children and expect to get correct results on enroll- 
ment, attendance, etc. 

Always check results to see if they add correctly, across and Up and 
down. Always include a total column both ways to check by. Use cards for 
children or other individual data, where possible, rather than page lists. 

It is not necessary for a club to do all the work of arranging and inter- 
preting figures itself. The work in addition is splendid material for the 
school children. Geometry students can help in plotting curves in their 
study of graphs, and drawing students can do much in making artistic 
posters or in coloring and filling in outlines. 

Example of Study 

For example: We wish to study non-promotions in city grades for the 
state of Wisconsin. First of all we shall look up our figures and divide the 
children into groups by grades and "total failed," "incomplete," and 
"promoted." Our table when complete will show in this fcrm: 



96 



Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 





Total 
No. 


Failed 
No. 


Dropped 
No. 


Promoted 

No. 


Total 


103676 
18821 
15190 
13676 
13459 
12503 
11366 
10315 
8346 


7949 

1849 

972 

844 

1065 

1038 

861 

863 

457 


8637 

1939 

1205 

1137 

1076 

1003 

819 

891 

567 


87090 


1st grade 


15033 


2nd grade 


13013 




11695 


4th grade 


11318 


5th grade 


10462 




9686 




8561 


8th grade 


7322 







You will notice that in each case the top or left hand figure is the sum 
cf the column crosswise, or up and down, and that the figure 103676 is 
the sum of the data for the grades as well as of the three column totals. 
This means that the table checks. 

Next should be computed percentages. When this is done the table will 
look like this: 

NONPROMOTION CH.4RT WISCONSIN CITY SCHOOLS 1914-1915 





Total 


Failed 


Dropped 


Promoted 




No. 


Percent 


No. 


Per cent 


No. 


Per cent 


No. 


Per cent 


Total 


103676 


100 


7949 


7.7 


8637 


8.3 


87090 


84.0 








18821 


100 


1849 


9.8 


1939 


10.2 


15033 


80.0 






2nd grade 


15190 


100 


972 


6.4 


1205 


8.0 


13013 


85.6 


3rd grade 


13676 


100 


844 


6.2 


1137 


8.3 


11695 


85.5 




13459 


100 


1065 


8.0 


1076 


8.0 


11318 


84.0 








12503 


100 


1038 


8.3 


1003 


8.0 


10462 


83.7 








11366 


100 


861 


7.6 


819 


7.2 


9686 


85.2 






7th grade 


10315 


100 


863 


8.4 


891 


8.7 


8561 


82.9 








8346 


100 


457 


5.5 


567 


6.8 


7322 


87.7 







You will notice that the per cents in each line of figures add up to 100 
crosswise, although up and down of course no check is possible. From a 
table like this one can see at a glance what grades fail the greatest number 
of pupils and from what grades pupils are most likely to drop. It should 
be mentioned that "dropped" means "dropped during year," not "failed to 
enroll." Notice that the total columns are at the top and left hand instead 
of at the right hand and bottom, as is usual in accounting. This is so that 
they will be near the headings and will occupy the prominent place which 
their importance demands, rather than being placed at the end of a mass 
of material. 

We now wish to show graphically the facts brought out by the above 
table. To do this we should use squared paper. The first thing to con- 
sider is: "What is the largest figure which I must show?" In this case it is 



Appendix on Method 



97 



18821, as we wish to make the graph to represent the relations of the dif- 
ferent grades to one another in the numbers of pupils failed, incomplete, 
and promoted. 

Should we count 100 children to the square our graph would need to 
be 189 squares high. This is, of course, an awkward height. We try letting 
each square represent 200, and find that 95 squares is still too high for a 
graph. We decide in this case to let one square equal 500 children, and so 
make our graph 38 squares or (on |inch squared paper) 9 5 inches high. For 
the width of the curve we decide to let each grade be represented by the 
fourth squared line, which will make our chart 28 squares or 7 inches wide. 
We make an ink line around the amount of squared paper which our chart 
will take, and make notations outside the graph area for each grade line 



and each line 


re 


presenting 


1000 children. 




(S 


ee 


Pl 


at 


e 


XXI). 














gr 

19000 
Total No. of 
children in 

1700O 
160OO 

15000 

No. promoted 

14000 

13000 

12000 

11000 

10000 

9000 

8000 

7000 

6000 

5000 

4000 

3000 

No. Incomplete 
2000 
No. failed 

1000 
\ 


Number of Children Promoted, Failed 
in Wisoon3in City Schools 1 

ade grade grade grade gra 
L E .T 4 


and incomplete 
914-15. 

de grade gra 

5 -6 1 


de gr! 


de 


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PLATE XXI 



TcS Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 

We will have for this graph four curves to represent columns, "total," 
"failed," "incomplete," and "promoted." Let us first follow up the total 
column. Our first figure for the first grade is 18821. Following up the grade 
one line to approximately 4-5 of the distance between 18000 and 19.000 we 
make an ink dot representing this number. (See plate 1). The next figure 
is 15190. On the second grade hne we follow up to a point above the 15000 
line, which will represent this amount. In the same way we make dots for 
13676, 13459, and the other figures in this column. When we have finished 
we diaw the line which represents the total number of children in each of 
these grades. In the same way we draw the lines for the children failed, 
incomplete, and promoted, using for each a different color of ink, and for 
the failed curve, which is the one we want to be the most prominent, red 
ink. The finished graph will represent the appearance of plate XXI. 

Suppose we want to represent by bars, a very common form of graphic 
representation, the number of children failed, incomplete, and promoted 
in Wisconsin schools during a single year. To represent this is very simple. 
We first make a black bar representing 100 per cent of the children. Let 
this bar equal a given length, — say 4 inches. This represents the total 
children enrolled in school. In the next bar we wish to show the number 
who were promoted. We kno>v that this equals 84 per cent of the total 
children involved. We get 84-100 of 4 inches, which will be 3 -1-4 inches. 
The number of failures is 7.7 per cent of the total. 77-1000 of 4 inches is 
approximately 5-16 of an inch. We shall draw a bar of this length to rep- 
resent this fact. 8.3 per' cent will represent a bar about 3-8 of an inch. 
When finished we have a series of bars like this: 



Total, 103676- 




Promoted 
87090-84f« 



Failed 

7949- 

7.7^ 

Incomplete 
8637-8. 3/o 



Suppose that instead of wanting to use the bar method we wish to make 
a circle graph of the facts as to nonpromotions. The whole circle will 
represent the total children enrolled or 103676. The number of degrees 
taken from the circle will show the various groups of children, those failed, 
incomplete, and promoted. The children having failed are, as has been 
said, 7.7 per cent of the total. 7.7 per cent of 360 degrees is approximately 
28 degrees. We shall mark off this amount on the circumference of the 
circle from any given radius, and then draw the radius from this point to 
the center. 8.3 per cent, or the number incomplete, would represent 30 
degrees, which number again will be represented by a second segment of 



Appendix on Method ^9 

a circle. To check the circle with the facts we shall take 84 per cent of 360 
degrees, Avhich is found to be 302 degrees. By using our protractor we 
find that this is the amount which is left of the circle. The complete graph 
will look as follows: 




The bar and the circle graphs are the commonest form of graphic rep- 
resentation. In finances the dollar may be divided up into segments by 
the circle method to show vividly comparative expenditures. Other 
examples of possible means of graphic representation are to be found in 
newspapers, reports, magazines, and bulletins on almost any subject. A 
bulletin published by the Russell Sage Foundation, No. 130 East 22nd 
Street, New York City, "A comparative study of the school systems of 
forty-eight states," which can be procured for 15 cents, gives a number 
of excellent examples of graphic representation. For the club which wishes 
to make a more extensive study of methods in this line perhaps the best 
work is "Graphic methods for presenting facts" by Willard C. Brinton, 
published by the Engineering Magazine Co., New York City, and sold at 
$3.00. 

One method which is like the bar method, but looks different, is to use 
instead of black bars symbols or little figures, such as dollar signs, or 
representations of children, etc. For this we use proportionate numbers of 
symbols in the various lines, e. g. 
Your tax money 
What the high school pupil gets 
What the grade pupil gets 



100 Suggestive Studies of School Conditions 




EACH YEAR SEES $354,400 

ECONOMIC WASTE 

IN 

WISCONSIN 

THROUGH NON-PROMOTIONS 



Yearly Expenses 

goes to educating 

Repeaters 



How many failures are preventable by 



Good teaching 

Good attendance 

Good home cooperation 

Good will of teacher and pupil 



CAN OUR SCHOOLS AFFORD 



TO FAIL CHILDREN? 



PLATE XXII 



Appendix on Method 101 

m Did hlot <=> 

Graduate. Graduated. 



kkkik 




Very often no ordinary graphic representation will show the thing as it 
should be shown. We must cultivate ingenuity in seeing the relations of 
facts. For example: In the study just explained in detail, that of nonpromo- 
tion, connection may be made with the cost of maintaining the schools 
of Wisconsin. It was found that approximately $4,430,000 is spent for the 
city grades each year. If 8 per cent of the children fail, this means that 
each year $354,400 is spent for the education of repeaters in grades. In 
this fact lies the "feature" of the study. As a final showing a chart should 
be made such as plate XXII. 

Each study that your club makes with regard to the school should 
produce one or more graphic charts showing conditions. This should be 
made on large size round paper. Use plenty of ink so that they may be 
seen at some distance. Colors should be used where possible, especially 
the brighter colors, — red, violet, etc. Objects or object charts are also 
very effective. This was discussed in section 17, "The School Exhibit." 
Where the name of a city or village is used in the headline, it should be 
made to stand out by using larger letters or some more prominent color 
of ink. This is also the case with the keyword or feature symbol of the 
chart. 

All charts should be saved for the club's annual exhibit which will give 
a summary of facts concerning the schools. 



s. c— 5 



